Zoroark: Fact of Fiction
by Haru-no-Jeshika
Summary: A Zoroark has been sighted near Oreburgh! But how? Zoroark are Unovvian pokémon! Riley's here to research with the help of his friend Roark and Roark's "roommate" Serena, a mysterious Joy who never wanted to be a nurse. Other two fan charas will appear.
1. CHAPTER 001: Meeting of two travellers!

- N - = Nicky's part

- J - = my part

**Chapter 001 - Meeting of two travellers!**

**- N -**

Dawn in Oreburgh City came in two varieties: on weekends, when the mine was empty, the silence in the mornings was so intense, the proverbial pin drop sounded like a bomb going off; but on weekday mornings, the machinery whirring was loud enough to rattle the floors.

Serena Joy buttered her toast and watched the salt and pepper shakers jump across the breakfast table. Her Audino grabbed a jar of strawberry preserve before it slid to the floor, looking like it was thinking the same thing she was: living next to the Oreburgh Mine wasn't the smartest idea they've had.

Audino pushed the jam back onto the table, muttering angrily about the noise, and jumped off her seat to collect more toast for the growing mountain on the table.

The door to the tiny kitchen opened up to reveal a very tired-looking redhead leaning in the frame. His shirt was on backwards and his pants were undone- it was clear Roark hadn't been thinking too straight when he dressed.

"I hate Mondays," He growled, rubbing his eyes. "Hate, hate, hate..."

"Hate them all you want," Serena rolled her eyes, getting up to fish his glasses from where they hung on his shirt collar and fitting them to his face. "It's like my dad used to say: Get rid of Monday and we'll all just hate Tuesdays,"

"Do they all say that in Unova?" Roark blinked, getting used to the lenses, before noticing his breakfast had already been set on the table. He sat down eagerly and began to demolish the small mountain of toast on his plate.

"Nope, just us Joys," Serena added. When you lived in a family of nurses, a strict work ethic was second nature.

"'pardos,"

Roark's Rampardos stuck his head into the kitchen door, mouth full of Monday mail. Serena rubbed the fossil pokemon's head as she flipped through the letters. Bills, bills, junk, bills...

"Roark?" She turned to her roommate, an odd letter in her hand. It was addressed to one Gym Leader Roark with perfect penmanship, in very professional dark blue pen. There was no return address. "Were you expecting a letter?"

"Let me see that," He picked the letter from her hand, sniffed it tentatively, and smiled.

"Riley."

"Who?"

"Riley. He's a friend of Dad's," Roark explained, opening the envelope with his butter knife. Carefully, he placed the envelope aside and skimmed through the letter. "You met him once, Serena, I think he was in town last year."

"I don't remember him," Serena admitted, flipping the envelope over in her fingers, then sniffing it the way Roark had. It smelt just like a perfectly ordinary piece of paper.

Roark's mood had improved significantly - quickly, he corrected his shirt and checked his pants. His red hardhat was halfway to his head. "You'll like him - he's interested in mythology and... that other thing you studied in college...?"

"Anthropology?"

"Yes. That." Roark beamed. "I gotta go. Get the mine nice and clean if he shows up."

"You mean, he's coming here? Today?" Her jaw was slack. "When?"

"He might, I don't know. He always shows up unannounced. We'll just be extra-careful. " Roark straightened himself in his mining uniform, looking every bit like a proud Gym Leader. "Dress nicely, just in case."

With a quick whistle, he signalled for his Rampardos to follow him out the door. Serena waited for his footsteps to disappear down the hallway before turning to her Audino. The little pink pokemon blinked quizzically, just as stunned as she was.

Suddenly, the noise of the mine was the least of their problems.

**- J -**

A young woman had just arrived at Oreburgh City accompanied by a Masquerain and a Roserade. She deposited her bag on a bench to wipe the sweat from her forehead.

"Phew... We're finally here, Maki, Dew. We're full of mud... We must go to a hostel to have a shower! Let's go!"

She started to run through the streets when she suddenly crashed with someone.

"OUCH!"

**- N -**

If Stephanie Brown could hate anything about Sinnoh, it would be the wildlife.

The young woman's legs ran quickly in their Runningshoes, turning her into a blur darting through the pavement of people at the town entrance. Commuters gasped, ducked and held onto their skirts as she zoomed past them all, trying all the while not to cry like a baby.

Behind her were more Bidoof than she had ever seen in her life.

Rodent squirmed in her arms, making little Raticate hissing noises, as if to scare them off. It wasn't working, of course, but she had to give her rat props for trying. They were both bruised and bloody and tired beyond belief - stopping to fight all those stupid beavers would be suicide.

"No! Bad Rodent!" She snapped, trying to stop her rat from moving in case she dropped him. "Just shut up and stop moving, we'll lose them in the city!"

They were in Oreburgh now, if her map was right - the stupid beavers had followed them all the way through the Oreburgh tunnel and into city limits - didn't those things ever give up? Why did every last stupid wild pokemon want to beat her up so badly?

Her legs were burning with exhaustion when she slammed into what felt like a brick wall.

Brown rubbed the back of her head, vaguely aware of the approaching crowd of Bidoof behind her. In front of her was a young woman with bushy brown hair a well-groomed Masquerain and Roserade beside her.

"Oh, ma'am, I'm so sorry, I'm just being followed and I wasn't looking and-" She stopped, noticing just how strong the woman's pokemon were. Hope glowed in her eyes.

"PLEASE!" She gasped, grabbing the woman's shirt and desperately talking into her face. "YOU'VE GOT STRONG POKEMON!"

She must have looked insane right then - there were twigs in her hair and scratches on her face, plus she hadn't bathed in days. "LISTEN. YOU GOTTA SAVE ME, LADY! THE BEAVERS! THEY WANT MY FLESH!"

"Raticate," Rodent muttered apologetically. Just in case this woman thought he was just as mad as his trainer.

"PLEASE! I'VE BEEN RUNNING NONSTOP FOR THREE HOURS! THEY JUST WON'T LEAVE ME ALONE!"

**- J -**

The lady stared at the teenager (assuming Ms. Brown is a few years younger than Amy), shocked not only because of her impulsiveness but also her wounds. She felt instantly sorry for the girl as she had a thing for younger kids.

"Oh, my...!" She scrapped some dirt from the girl's face. "How could such a cute girl be attacked by pokémon?"

The horde of Bidoofs reached both females. They looked at the teenager angrily but ignored the young woman. Roserade and Masquerain looked at their trainer as the girl stood behind her, hell of scared.

"I hate battling, but if these Bidoofs stay here for longer, not only this girl but also the city would be in troubles." The woman said. "Dew, immobilize them with your grass knot!"

Roserade tied all the Bidoofs up with her roots, but they didn't seem to chill out.

"It seems like they need to _chill_ out..." The purple-eyed woman said, grinning. "Maki, ice beam!"

Masquerain used her ice beam on all the Bidoofs, that ran away from there, freezing to death.

"I feel kind of sorry for those poor things..." The woman said; she turned to the girl. "But at least you're all right!"

She brushed the girl's hair with her hand, and then smiled.

"My name is Amethyst, but you can call me Amy." She said. "What's your name~?"

**- N -**

_"It seems like they need to chill out..." _

Still with her butt on the ground, Brown giggled at the pun. For the first time in hours, she was feeling truly safe as the purple-eyed trainer dispatched the beavers and sent them yelping back out of town.

"Woah." She blinked as the Masquerain sent out an ice beam. This trainer was more than strong - she seemed downright capable. While Brown herself had had several trainer battles before, no one had ever fought so effortlessly. This was someone with plenty of experience behind her.

"How did you do that? That was amazing!" Brown gasped as she stood up. Her legs were burning with exhaustion, and the hundred or so scratches she had were finally starting to smart. "Ow, ow, ow, ow..."

Sensing his trainer needed some help, Rodent braced himself against her leg. "Thanks, buddy," She ruffled the rat's fuzzy brown head as she finally straightened her back. She flinched as the older girl brushed the dirt from her brownish-blonde hair, but didn't move. It felt good to finally rest.

"It's really, really really nice to meet you, Miss Amy," Brown grinned and introduced herself the way Gold had taught her: "I'm Stephanie Brown and I'm a Pokedex Holder from Jhoto. Thank you so, so so much for saving me! I really really-"

Her Raticate cleared his throat.

"Right," She sighed, then indicated to her rat, who bowed on cue. "This is Rodent. He's my only Pokemon. We're trying to get into the Sinnoh League."

Feeling slightly proud she opened her jacket, displaying two badges. "I got this one in Viridian in Kanto, and this one's from Canalave when I got here by boat." It felt good showing the badges off, especially since there weren't many trainers she knew who had more than two.

**- J -**

"Awww, nice to meet you both, Stephanie and Rodent!" Amethyst said, with a warm smile. "These two are Maki and Dew, two of my pokémon."

Roserade and Masquerain nodded.

"I'm also a traveller." Amethyst added. "Although I guess you haven't been to a Pokémon Center for longer than me! My... How can you take all that mud on your clothes?"

Amethyst looked around.

"I hadn't been here in ages, many things have changed." She said. "But! If I'm not wrong, there should be a Pokémon Center over there."

As they start walking, Amethyst giggles at Stephanie's surprised expression.

"Haha, as you can see, I don't take my pokémon in their pokéballs. If I could, I would carry my whole team out of their pokéballs!" She said. "I don't care if people look at me, I just can't take the idea of shutting these creatures in these tiny balls... My Glaceon, Mawile and Togekiss are hurt from some battles, and Dragonite is too big, that's why they're in their pokéballs now."

Amethyst patted Roserade's head, friendly.

"Anyway." She said, more seriously. "How do you plan on winning the Pokémon League with only one pokémon? I'm not doubting Rodent's skills, but the E4 members are very strong... Don't you think you could try to catch more pokémon? I'm not a big fan of capturing pokémon, but trainers who live to battle like you need them, so..."

**- N -**

Brown waved meekly at the two pokemon. Maki and Dew seemed gentle enough, but she kept her distance anyway. Even trained pokemon tended to act unpredictably around her. Gold's own Typhlosion still enjoyed pouncing on her every so often, but the rest of the pokemon in his house tended to simply ignore her.

"H-hi, Maki, hi, Dew." She stammered. "It's r-really nice to meet you."

Rodent sniffed the Roserade curiously, before extending a tiny hand to shake. Brown smiled – if Rodent could be friendly, then so could she.

"A pokemon center? Ohhh… I could really really really use a shower. And some antiseptic." She smiled tiredly, and checked her cuts. "Ow. Actually, I think I use more potions than Rodent here does!"

The purple-eyed woman had a world-traveller look to her, as if she'd been to many places and knew them all by heart. Brown found herself wondering how long Amy had been a trainer. She seemed very experienced. Hadn't Professor Oak told her there were other Pokedex Holders along with Gold, Emerald and Kris? Silver had one, and so did his friend Blue… and so did Ruby and Sapphire in Hoenn. There were four, maybe more, in Kanto… but how many else were there?

Maybe Amy was one? She seemed strong enough, and just the kind Oak would have trusted.

She stopped thinking (and walking, too!) the moment she heard Amy had more than two pokemon. An entire team full of very, very very strong pokemon. She wasn't sure what a Glaceon and a Togekiss once, but Ruby had warned her to watch out for Mawiles. She gulped.

"Maybe… maybe it's best they stay put in their balls for a little while… At least until I leave" She said, trying not to sound rude. "I met a Dragonite once, and it tried to eat me."

She scratched the back of her head.

"Pokemon… don't really like me, Miss Amy," She admitted. "Professor Oak calls it 'The Brown Effect' – wild pokemon are attracted to me, but they always seem to want to beat me up for some reason. Even the ones with trainers still like attacking me – the ones that don't just ignore me.

"Rodent's the only pokemon that really trusts me. He's very helpful when we need to protect ourselves. Don't get me wrong – I do want more teammates, but when I've tried catching more, they all just jump on me once they get out of the ball." She shrugged. "No one knows why pokemon act like that around me. Maybe it's destiny or something?"

The Raticate crawled up her back and sat on her shoulders. Instinctively, Brown scratched him between his ears, and heard him purr with pleasure.

"To be honest, I don't want to be the champion or anything. This was all a friend of mine's idea – this guy, Gold, right? He takes care of me, since my parents are travellers, kind of like you. My parents invited me to come and watch them in the league this year, but Gold insisted I try to get into the league and take them on instead of just watching. He says that I don't assert myself enough, or something like that…" She shrugged.

"I've already beaten Byron in Canalave, since Rodent had a type advantage." Rodent squeaked proudly, setting part of his fur on fire. "His dad was Gold's Typhlosion, so he knows Flame Wheel. It wasn't easy, but I really want to prove I can be a good trainer. Plus, Byron says his son's a pussy. How hard can he be?"

She laughed. "I want to be a good trainer, not just for Rodent, but for Gold – he's done a lot for me. And some of the dexholders seem to think I'll chicken out and give up. Gold has a friend, Kris? She's worried I won't be able to beat them all… and her apprentice seems to think I'm a wimp. " She crossed her arms, remembering Emerald teasing her. He was never mean, but still she wanted to prove him wrong.

**- J -**

Amethyst noticed that Brown was staring at her as they walked. She smiled when the young girl showed her pokédex, as Amethyst had another one herself!

"_I'm so glad to meet one of the new Dexholders._" Amethyst thought. "_And she seems to be very proud of it! I'd better not tell her yet I'm also a Dexholder, I don't want her to feel intimidated._"

The young woman giggled as she saw Dew and Maki salute Ms. Brown and her chubby Raticate.

"It's okay!" Amethyst said. "I haven't trained my pokémon to be fighters, in fact, we only battle when we have to. But if you feel more comfortable this way, I'll keep it like this!"

When they stopped walking, Amethyst put her hands on her hips and looked at Stephanie and Rodent as they examinated her and her pokémon as well.

"It's strange." Amethyst said. "I never heard of a phenomenon like that… I mean, it's not like you seem to be a dangerous person, so I don't know why would most pokémon attack you."

"Hahaha!" Amethyst smiled as she remembered Gold. "Yeah, I know that hot-head. He's two years younger than me, but he's so clever!" She stared at Rodent. "So, he managed to breed a Rattata with his Typhlosion. Awesome! He isn't the Breeder for anything, is he?"

Amethyst looked around, southward.

"Yeah… I met Byron's son eight years ago." She said. "It was for a very short time, so I'm sure he won't recognize me. Well, I don't really remember him very well either…"

She patted Brown's shoulder, as sign of support.

"Don't worry, I know those persons you mentioned, and well, Crystal tends to worry too much, to be honest." Amethyst said. "As for Emerald… Hehe, I would have never figured you had met my brother before~! Yeah, he's kind of a pain in the neck, but he's a pretty cool guy after all, and he's matured a lot. Now, he's travelling through Kanto."

Suddenly, Amethyst flinched, as she remembered something.

"We shouldn't be talking here!" She exclaimed. "We must go to a Pokémon Center to give you proper medicine and a shower! Let's go~!"

**- N -**

"Oh wow! You know Gold too? How?" Brown clapped her hands happily. Gold had told her his breeding skills were renowned, but she had no idea he was this famous. "I bet he flirted with you, didn't he?" She laughed. "He's such a player."

She followed Amy's gaze to the south, wondering which one of the tall industrial buildings was the Gym. "What was Roark like when you met him, Miss Amy? Is he scary? I remember Byron was scary!"

Rodent shivered, as they both recalled nearly losing to the gym leader's Bronzong. Kris had taught her about how some pokemon concentrated their energy at special areas, but it had taken a lot of luck to attack the Bronzong at just the right spot.

"But you're right – Kris worries a lot about things. Gold told me she panics when things don't go according to plan." She laughed. "And Emerald's really cool! He tried to teach me how to battle and surprise the opponent. He kept saying that even if we were disadvantaged, we could still plan and come out on top.

"We saw him off when he went to Kanto. It got lonely around Oak's lab when he left and…"

She stopped.

"Wait – did you say Emerald was your b-brother?" Her mouth was wide open now, and Rodent bristled his fur in surprise. "Really, really?" She looked the older trainer up and down. "You look so so so different from him! Come to think of it, he's mentioned you once or twice! He told me about the time he went to Iron Island with you! I saw it on the boat while coming into Canalave – it's so big and dangerous! Weren't you scared?"

She was so excited, she barely noticed the Pokemon Center in front of her – and the glass door. Bonking, hard, into the large glass entrance, Brown staggered back several steps, visibly shaken.

"I… usually don't see where I'm going." She groggily admitted to the older trainer, Rodent still squeaking loudly on her shoulders.

When you lived in a house full of rock pokemon, it was hard to keep everything clean.

Serena Joy had given up trying to sweep the floor – every time, she finished with the living room, another geodude would hop by and dirty it up again. Or an Onyx would put his head through the window to stop her attempts at changing the curtains.

Once she's given up dusting, mopping or sweeping, she'd discovered the apartment didn't have a vacuum cleaner. ("Everyone should have a vacuum cleaner. Why doesn't he vacuum? How does he even live?") A quick call to her assorted cousins at the Pokemon Center had fixed that – now all she needed to do was pick it up.

She waited in the Center lobby for someone to return with a vacuum, all the while glaring at people who asked her to heal their teams.

"Do I LOOK like a Nurse Joy?" She spat at the fifth trainer who came up to her with a tray of pokeballs. "Am I, like, am I wearing the stupid paper hat? Do I have a Chansey? Welcome to the Pokemon Center, we heal your pokemon to full health? Huh? Punk? Huh?"

Her Audino merely looked at them apologetically. "Audino," It sweatdropped.

A shadow fell over her – no doubt another trainer. "Before you ask: NO! I WILL NOT, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, HEAL YOUR STUPID POKEMON!" Without turning around, she flapped a hand at the trainer. "BEAT IT!"


	2. CHAPTER 002: An Aura user's arrival!

- N - = Nicky's part

- J - = my part

**Chapter 002 - An Aura user's arrival!**

**- J -**

"I-I'm not the kind of girl you would flirt with, actually." Amethyst said, gently but showing that she had no interesting in talking about that topic.

Amethyst tried to remember after hearing Stephanie's question. She hardly remembered anything about Roark... He wasn't the type of guy that interested her, anyway.

"Mmhm..." Amethyst muttered. "I told you we met for a very whort time, and it was in middle of a battle, you see... But he seemed a very serious guy. Judging by appearance, he looks nothing like his father. At all."

"Hahaha!" Amethyst laughed. "And I guess you could say the same about me and my brother! He's blonde, I'm a chestnut-head; he's green eyes, I've purple eyes; he's stubborn, I'm quiet. But...! If we look closer, the shape of our eyes is very similar, haha!"

Amethyst smiled, remembering her brother, glad to meet someone who was a friend of his.

"Actually, we don't usually talk about each other, at least as siblings." Amethyst said as they kept walking. "Why should people know we're siblings, after all. And it's something our enemies could use in their advantage, you see."

She had no time to reply to Ms. Brown's question because the young teenager crashed into the door. Alarmed, Amethyst helped her not to fall.

"Ooh!" She screamed. "You okay?"

Even Dew and Maki seemed worried. Amethyst smiled with sorrow as the dizzy girl muttered that that was something which happened to her constantly.

"Poor thing..." Amethyst said.

They got into the Pokémon Center, Amethyst's arm around Brown's shoulders.

"Come on." She said. "Let's go heal your b- Hey! What's happening?"

She looked at the back of the room, where a pink-haired woman was yelling at some trainer.

"_She definitely looks like a Joy._" Amethyst thought. "_But she doesn't dress like a nurse..._"

**- N -**

"Say… If you battled Roark…" Brown asked, suspicious, "does that mean you have his… his Gym Badge?"

She tried not to fall over as Amy guided her into the Pokemon Center. Sensing his trainer's shoulders wasn't the safest place to be, Rodent abandoned his roost and walked on foot into the Center-

-Only to bump into a large, Chansey-sized pink rabbit Pokemon.

"Audino," The pokemon blinked at the dirty rat who had pushed himself into his belly. "Dino-au, audi!"

"Raticate!" Rodent hissed, annoyed at being scolded, before running back to his trainer.

"Ro, stop bothering the ugly Chansey! It's not its fault it was born that way." Brown sighed, helping herself to a chair, and getting out of Amethyst's support. "Thanks, Miss Amy, this feels so much better. I think my butt forgot what a chair felt like…"

She trailed off, noticing the older trainer's attention on a loud pink-haired woman at the back of the lobby. The woman's hairstyle and figure clearly indicated her status as a Nurse Joy, but her dressing was different – she had on a loose tee-shirt and jeans, looking more like a starving artist than a well-kempt nurse. The ugly Chansey was trying its best to calm her down as she slammed the table and screamed at a trainer with a large bipedial dog pokemon.

"BEAT IT, CHUM," The woman snapped. "For the hundredth time today, I am not a Nurse!"

The male trainer blinked, looking rather shocked. Clearly he'd never been talked back to in a long, long time.

"Laelaps," He turned to the blue-and-black dog that stood next to him, "Laelaps, boy, I think she thinks I want you healed." Under his torn fedora, the man chuckled. He had, Brown realised, amazingly sharp features, like a statue, with a strong nose and chiselled cheekbones, sloping gently to a pair of very amused lips. He was dressed smartly, but his suit looked worn, as if it'd spent years wandering the globe.

(Laelaps? What kind of stupid nickname was that?) The dog pokemon barked sharply and Brown realised it was laughing.

"No, Miss, you're mistaken," He smiled coyly. "I only wanted to ask you where your… roommate... was, Serena Joy."

At the mention of what was clearly her name, the pink-haired Joy stiffened. The ugly Chansey blinked, looking as startled as its trainer.

"Ohmigosh," She stammered, finally turning her head to look at the man directly. "Y-you must be…"

"Riley," The man tipped his hat, exposing a headful of cobalt-blue hair. "We met last year at the Miner's Dance. I don't think you remember me, Serena Joy." He extended a gloved hand for her to shake. "I'm looking for Roark. It's important I speak with him."

"H-he… He's at the mine," She blinked, slowly shaking his hand like in a dream. He had a firm grip, like an age-hardened vice, and his eyes seemed to bear into the deepest pits of her soul. Serena gulped. His eyes were unnaturally old for someone who looked so young.

"Ah," His features didn't change. "I'll just wait here for him to come back." Gently, and still smiling, he slid himself into the seat opposite her, his large dog pokemon keeping watch. Serena Joy simply blinked at him, mouth agape. Brown almost felt sorry for the pink-haired woman – 'awkward' didn't come close to describing her position.

The only sound from the booth was Serena's heavy breathing and the clinking of Riley's fingers playing with his gold necklaces.

"I hear the Miner's Dance is in a fortnight," He rested his chin on his hand. "Would it be too hasty of me to assume Roark already asked you to lead the first dance with him?"

Serena Joy looked close to vomiting. "R-Roark? And… and me?" She stuttered. "No, I mean, no! We're not… I mean, we've never…!"

The male trainer threw his head back and laughed, a gesture his dog pokemon mirrored with surprising similarity.

"Give him time, Serena Joy. It'll happen eventually." He winked, and for a brief moment, Brown swore she saw a flash of glowing blue. "I can sense these sort of things."

He turned his head. "And speaking of senses, I think I recognise a very familiar aura. Hello, Amethyst. It's been a while. Care to introduce me to your friend?"

**- J -**

"Oh, no." Amethyst denied, smiling mysteriously. "The battle where I met Roark wasn't a Gym battle."

Amethyst didn't notice Audino and Rodent's small confrontation when they just entered the Pokémon Center, but Dew and Maki did. Both Amethyst's pokémon stared at the Audino because they had never seen a pokémon like that.

"Rain?" Maki asked.

"Rose..." Dew said.

Despite she was helping Brown to sit on a chair, what Amethyst was paying attention to was the loud-mouthed Joy and the trainer she was yelling at.

"_I-it can't be…"_ She thought.

Amethyst and Brown stared at the male trainer and that Joy named Serena. While Brown's expression denoted curiosity, Amethyst was more like in a daze staring at the attractive man.

She was so engrossed that she couldn't help but flinch when the blue-eyed man called her name. On the other hand, Dew and Maki jumped in joy.

"Rose! Roserade!" Dew exclaimed, as she danced around the elegant Lucario.

"Masquerain!" Maki said, shaking her wings happily.

Amethyst's face was totally red, and she was like petrified, staring at Riley with a lump in her throat. She only was able to respond when Ms. Brown pushed her towards the man.

"Ri-Riley...!" Amethyst exclaimed, totally blushing. "Hello...! It's been a long time...!"

She was so nervous that she didn't seem the cool person she had been when she met Stephanie. She seemed more like a young teenager...

"_He must be in his early 30's, right?_" Amethyst thought. "_He's still so handsome..._"

Noticing Ms. Brown's impatience, Amethyst decided to say something useful.

"Oh, meet Stephanie." She said, pointing at the young girl. "Stephanie Brown. She's a Dexholder! We just met, but she's a pretty nice girl!"

Amethyst smiled softly, still blushing...

**- N -**

Rodent crossed his arms, about to complain to his new friends, when he noticed Amethyst's two pokemon distracted by the new trainer.

Brown looked at the two pokemon's reactions, then at the man, and then back at the woman she'd been travelling with. She narrowed her eyes, there was definitely something going on between those two.

While she was surprised to notice Amy knew him, she was more taken aback at her behaviour. In the span of ten seconds, the older trainer had gone from a confident and strong trainer, to a melting glob of incoherent sentences. Why was she stuttering? Why did this Riley fellow make her so… upset? Excited?

…Or could it be love?

She snapped out of it and waved politely, however, as Amy introduced her. "Hi, Mr Riley," She added. "I'm from Jhoto, and this is my Raticate - say hello, Rodent."

The rat pokemon simply sniffed the man's shoes. For the first time in a while, Rodent seemed more interested in the person he was meeting. Brown had to agree – there was something decidedly mysterious about this Riley fellow.

Riley simply tipped his hat again. "It's a pleasure, Stephanie Brown. I've read Professor Oak's book about you: _The Brown Effect_? I must say, your effect on pokemon is righteously funny. " He pulled out a battered paperback from the inside of his jacket. Brown gasped, recognising the book instantly. "It kept me very entertained on the trip here."

"My, you've been through so much," He looked her up and down, holding his hand in the air as if he was scanning her. "First that battle with Byron and now a swarm of Bidoof? You sound like a girl who deserves a rest."

Brown blinked with her mouth wide open, feeling slightly violated that a perfect stranger knew so much about her. Sure, he could have read about her in the book, but how had he known about the Bidoof? That had only happened today.

"How do you know that?" She stuttered, before turning to the older trainer. "Amy! How does he know that?"

Riley smiled beneath his dark blue hair. "You seem surprised to see me, Amy," He stood up, taking one of her hands and holding it between two of his own. Brown looked at them – his gloves were velvet and seemed lovely warm. "I thought you were coming to Oreburgh to join in the Miner's Dance. It's very popular around this area."

"The Miner's Dance?" Brown raided an eyebrow.

"The Miner's Dance is a celebration held every year in Eterna and Oreburgh." Serena Joy piped up, finally glad to be part of the conversation. "It's held every year on the third night the harvest moon is full, and was originally supposed to be a ceremony to Palkia and Dialga for good crops for the next year. Since Oreburgh stopped farming and went into mining, Oreburghians call it the Miner's Dance here and not the Harvest Dance like in Eterna."

"A Dance?" the teenager's smile grew, she picked her Raticate from the floor and spun him in the air. Rodent squeaked uncontrollably in fear, turning bright green as his trainer spun faster. "That's so exciting!"

"It's tradition that the farmer with the most crops starts the Dance, but here in Oreburgh, it's the Chief of Mining Operations that has the first dance." Serena began to blush uncontrollably. "It's very romantic."

"If I recall, Byron used to lead the dance every year," Riley added, still looking at Amy with his ageless eyes. "But since he left for Canalave, that first dance has always been Roark the Gym Leader's job… and he must always do it with a partner." He glanced quietly at the Joy, who had turned her back to the group to prevent them from watching her face turn deep red.

"It's tradition that every singleton joins in the dance," Serena muttered, her face buried in her Audio's chubby belly. "They say it's the place where you find your true love."

"It's nonsense," Riley smiled at Amy, "I've gone every year and still I've yet to find a dance partner."

**- J -**

"_I must do something to stop looking so dumb..._" Amethyst was thinking, as Ms. Brown introduced herself. "_Or Steph will distrust me...!_"

Dew and Maki smiled as they saw Rodent smell Riley's worn shoes. Dew approached Lucario happily, since he had protected her when she was a Budew back when they were staying at Iron Island with Amethyst, Riley and Emerald.

"Rose!" Dew exclaimed, showing Lucario how much she had grown up.

Lucario kept his serious expression, however.

Amethyst smiled softly at the pokémon, still with a slight blush on her face. However, the story about Oak's book _Brown effect?_ caught her attention.

"_Whoa! I knew Steph was special, but not THAT special!_" Amethyst thought, impressed. "_Although I can understand... Her effect on pokémon is rather... odd._"

The suddenly shy Amethyst couldn't help but giggle at Stephanie's embarrassment when Riley scanned her. She obviously didn't know anything. Amused at Ms. Brown's discomfort, Amethyst felt a little more relieved, although the slight blush stayed at her face.

"Oh! Riley has the power of aura!" Amethyst explained. "You remember when he knew I was here? He detected my aura, that's it!"

Amethyst smiled at Riley's Lucario and kept explaining.

"Actually, only Lucario and Riolu have that skill." She added. "But after living all his life with his Lucario, Riley developed that skill too. He can read our mind, see what's happened to us or who's near him if he wants!"

Giggling nervously, Amethyst looked at Riley's eyes. It was then when he held her light hands between his own. Amethyst's blush became terribly intense... Thanks goodness Stephanie's question broke the awkward silence.

As soon as Serena stopped explaining, Amethyst let go off Riley's hands, nervous, and rushed to introduce herself to Serena.

"I-I'm sorry, Ms. Joy!" Amethyst exclaimed. "I apologize for not introducing myself properly! I'm Amethyst, Amy for friends! And this is St-!"

Ms. Brown's excited dance interrupted Amethyst's speech. She couldn't help but laugh at Stephanie's enthusiasm.

"_Oh, my!_" Amethyst thought, amused. "_She's so lively!_"

However, Amethyst's face turned red again as she listened to Serena's explanations about the Miner's Dance. Even more red when Serena added the _"find your true love"_ line.

Indeed, she had visited Oreburgh to have a look at the festival. But she would have never imagined she would meet Riley there!

_"It's nonsense, I've gone every year and still I've yet to find a dance partner."_

Amethyst flinched when she noticed Riley was smiling at her when he said that.

"Oh...!" She exclaimed, her face red as a tomato. "That's hard to believe, you see, being so handso-! Uh? What am I saying? I-I mean...! Sorry, I was thinking about other things, Riley..."

She noticed Brown flickering shocked at her nervous behaviour. That way, Riley would change his mind about her. But she simply couldn't say anything intelligent!

"Oh, well." Amethyst finally said. "I heard you mentioned Roark, and Ms. Brown is looking for him to battle him!"

**- N -**

Brown listened intently as Amy explained the power of aura to her. That must have been the blue light! She thought. Riley seemed very powerful, especially with his superpowers.

Maybe it was the aura in the air, but something seemed supercharged as Riley looked into the older trainer's eyes. The tension in the air was intense, and felt like a bag on cotton wool had been dumped on her head. Something was definitely going on between the two of them.

"Imagine what living with Grimer and Muk'll do for you!" She laughed meekly. "You'd have the power of stinkyness!"

Rodent laughed, but Serena Joy's ugly Chansey seemed as if it had missed the joke entirely. Maybe it didn't know what Grimers were.

"It's alright," Serena shrugged at the purpled-eyed woman apologising to her, somewhat surprised when the woman suggested her young friend attempt to beat Roark for the Coal Badge.

"Battle Roark? With that rat?" Serena Joy stared at the Raticate and his trainer, then snorted uncontrollably. "You're joking! Tell me you're joking!"

"It's not funny!" Brown stamped her foot, the fur on Rodent beginning to bristle. "Rodent is awesome and… and smart! And… awesome!" Her Raticate nodded. "We'll wipe the floor with Roark!"

Serena Joy laughed – not a mean laugh, just a very amused one. "I would _love_ to see you try, blondie." She smiled. "You're at a serious type disadvantage. Plus, Roark's no pushover. He's very, very strong."

Surprised to see the snarky woman compliment anything, Brown's heart fell as she imagined just how much stronger Roark was compared to her. Maybe Kris was right, maybe battling wasn't for her…

"Raticate!" Rodent squeaked defiantly in her arms.

"You're right, Rodent! We can't give up now!" She nodded. "I-I… I bet Rodent could beat your ugly Chansey!"

"Audino! Dino! Au Audi!" The pink rabbit pokemon looked offended.

Serena Joy rolled her eyes. "I don't doubt that – Audino's a weakling." The pink pokemon looked doubly offended. "I had a Sawsbuck… now, if _he_ was alive, he'd turn your Rat into chopped liver."

"What happened to him?" Pokemon dying were a rare thing to Brown.

"He was… he was eaten." Serena closed her eyes. "He was a good pokemon, like a partner. Nothing can replace a friend like that."

Brown nodded, she knew what it was like to have given half her heart to a partner like that. Rodent was her friend, and no pokemon she ever found came close to being a replacement. Out from the corner of her eye, she caught another flash of blue from Riley. Was he using his aura on them?

Serena narrowed her eyes, no doubt thinking the same thing. If he could read my mind, how much did this Riley person know? She thought, slightly afraid. More importantly, how much can I let him discover before Roark gets in trouble?

"I should go now," She added. "I have to get the house ready for dinner tonight. Roark wanted you to come over, Mr Riley." Quietly, she got up and excused herself, making sure to take the vacuum she came for. She signalled for her Audino to follow her back to the apartment. This definitely needed her to think it over.

"I can hardly wait, Serena. Roark's complimented your cooking very often," Riley added slyly, before she was out the door. If he knew anything, he certainly wasn't going to say it. "Would it be alright if this lovely lady and her friend came with me?"

At the thought of eating, Brown's stomach growled loudly. She suddenly realised she'd spent most of lunchtime running away from beavers. Still, why would Riley call Amy 'lovely'? Was he… _dating_ her? ...Then again, anyone would have agreed Amy was attractive, what with her long brown hair and her eyes like looked like costume jewellery gems. Not to mention her outfit! Brown never felt daring enough to show off her figure in a midriff-baring outfit like Amy could.

"I… uh… I guess?" Serena shrugged. "Do you know where to find us?"

"I know Roark's apartment," He assured her. "See you at seven." She nodded briskly and darted out the glass entrance of the Pokemon Center.

Riley watched her go like a stone statue, as unblinking and emotionless as his Lucario. Finally, he turned briskly to both trainers, his happy attitude apparently restored.

"You two look like you could use some lunch," He added, taking out a wallet from his pocket. "Come on, I'll treat you both – just tell me what you're in the mood for." He smiled as Brown screamed 'YES! YES!' uncontrollably at the thought of a free meal.

"We have so much catching up to do, Amy."


	3. CHAPTER 003: So much to catch up

- N - = Nicky's part

- J - = my part

**Chapter 003 - So much to catch up**

**- J -**

Dew and Maki also laughed at Serena's joke, but couldn't stop figuring which type of pokémon was that Audino. If it hadn't caught the joke, that had to mean it'd be from a faraway region!

Amethyst looked at Stephanie and Serena while they discussed about Roark, taking advantage of the situation to look at someone who wasn't Riley.

"_Poor Steph._" Amethyst thought. "_I hate to admit it, but Serena's right, she has no chance to win against a rock-type trainer with her normal-type pokémon._"

"_Unless she has taught him some fight-type move..._"

She was somewhat sad at Ms. Brown's sorrow, and her pokémon also looked worried about Rodent. Anyway, it took a short amount of time to Stephanie to cheer up again, all thanks to Rodent.

Dew smiled and looked at her trainer.

"Moreover," Amethyst said. "I can lend you my Roserade if you want."

Amethyst noticed that Ms. Brown kept calling Serena's pokémon a Chansey, but before she could ask what type of pokémon it really was, Serena mentioned her deceased pokémon, which caused Amethyst to be extremely sad.

"Oh, my!" She exclaimed. "I'm so sorry...!"

However, Serena seemed to have overcome the loss of her pokémon well.

Amethyst noticed Riley using his aura again on Serena and Stephanie.

"_I wonder what's he doing..._" She thought. "_Will he be using it on me too? Well, he already knows everything about me... Since the day we met..._"

The purple-eyed woman listened at Riley and Serena's final words before Serena left. Amethyst's quietness quite contrasted with Brown's enthusiasm regarding the dinner at Roark's house. However, there was something irking Amethyst.

"_Come to think of it, Serena was blushing a lot when Riley talked to her._" She thought, pissed. "_And she was acting very shy and nervous, too! I hope she doesn't li-._"

Amethyst's thoughts were interrupted by Riley's joyful invite and Ms. Brown's happy screams.

"Oh! That's a good idea!" Amethyst exclaimed, patting Stephanie's shoulder. "Poor Ms. Brown hasn't eaten anything in a while, and this is very kind of you!"

Giggling, Amethyst blushed at Riley's gentle smile. He hadn't changed anything.

Once out of the Pokémon Center, Amethyst looked around.

"I fancy some chocolate!" She said, happily.

As they started moving, Amy's hand brushed Riley's by accident. Blushing as hell, Amethyst put her hands in her pockets. Maybe it didn't happen by accident? She couldn't tell since she didn't dare look at Riley's face.

"A-anyway," Amethyst said, somewhat nervous. "we shouldn't eat a lot now, we have to be prepared for tonight's dinner! Keep that in mind, okay? Ms. Brown?"

**- N -**

He'd told her she was too young, hadn't he? Well, here she was, all grown up.

Riley tried not to look disappointed as Amy stuffed her hands into her pockets, he pulled his own gloved hand back to his side. She was right, holding hands would be awkward, especially considering how long it'd been since they'd last seen each other. Still, the urge to grab her and turn her to face him was overpowering.

She'd grown up perfectly, into a mature gentle and experienced young woman. (Maybe looking a little more grown up than usual with Stephanie Brown jumping along beside her.) It all seemed so familiar, the bounce of her curly brown hair, the way those purple eyes caught the light…

"But I'm starving!" Brown laughed, clutching her stomach and snapping Riley out from his thoughts. "We're going to have to eat a lot more than just chocolate."

"Ticate!" Rodent agreed.

Riley blinked. Chocolate? Oh, yes, wasn't that what Amy had wanted? He placed his fingers on his temples, trying to find a hint of chocolate in the air…

"There's a dessert shop not too far from here," He smiled, pointing to the direction he'd sensed the smell of chocolate sauce and cream. "It's not too far a walk…"

He droned off, feeling somewhat awkward at the younger trainer and her Raticate staring at him.

"What is it?"

"Your eyes," Brown gestured vaguely at the air. "Do they always glow?"

Riley sighed patiently, slightly amused. "Only when I'm feeling something… strong," He tried to explain. He caught a glimpse of Amy's purple dress from a corner of his vision, and found himself smiling despite himself. "And right now, I guess you can say I'm feeling… I'm feeling something…."

He turned to Amy, waiting for her to join in, but she was as silent as usual. Something wasn't quite right. Still, she was just like they'd been before – she never needed to say anything aloud, her body language tended to speak for itself.

Brown seemed to catch on. The younger trainer ran ahead of her, trying her best to see whatever was troubling her. "Something wrong, Miss Amy?" She asked, her brown eyebrows furrowed. "You seem distracted."

**- J -**

Amethyst smiled, amused at Stephanie's enthusiasm, as usually. It was so refreshing to be accompanied by a young teenager again.

"Haha!" She laughed. "Okay, okay! But if you eat too much, you won't be hungry at dinner! And who knows? Serena could prepare something tasty for us~!"

She felt so relieved when talking to Stephanie. Maybe it was because she reminded her of her brother Emerald when he was younger, but Amethyst really enjoyed her company. So happy-go-lucky and jolly...

She sometimes wished she could go back to when she was 16 and travelled with her brother, Diamond and Pearl, all of them 12-years-old adorable kids.

Dew and Maki were more attentive to Stephanie and Rodent, amused at the fact that they didn't get used to Riley's superpowers.

"_Hehe._" Amethyst thought, looking at Ms. Brown. "_She is sure very perceptive. When I was her age, I could never tell when Riley was using his powers!_"

However, Amethyst's expression turned more serious after Riley's speech about what he was feeling and such.

"_Yeah, sure._" She thought, frowning. "_He's always talking about beautiful things... His words are as elegant as before... But WHAT? He has made me wait for eight years... Does he really expect me to go after him just like I did eight years ago? And still, I can't resist... I like him too much..._"

She was engrossed in her thoughts. She had even stopped paying attention to the happy Stephanie.

Of course, Riley noticed it. Dew patted her trainer's leg, Amethyst blinked a few times and looked at Ms. Brown, who had just asked her something...

"O-oh! It's nothing!" Amethyst exclaimed. "I was just thinking what could I buy at the dessert shop, hehe!"

Amethyst smiled gently at Stephanie. Then, with a more serious expression but slightly blushing, she turned to Riley and approached him.

"It will be better if we go now to that shop." She said. "That way, if Ms. Brown eats too much it won't be a problem at dinner because they will have passed more hours."

The purple-eyed woman gave Riley a light smile. She was very happy to see him again, after all.

"Why don't you take us to that shop~?"

They started walking and a few minutes later, they spotted the shop.

**- N -**

"Oh, trust me," Brown laughed loudly at the thought of not being able to eat, "I could eat a whole Milktank and still have room for dinner."

Riley chuckled, doffing his hat at the waiter who stood by the shop entrance. Quietly, he slid into a booth, motioning for Amy to join him. Brown merely bounced into the seat opposite them both and leafed through the menu, her Raticate looking intently at the pictures.

"How about you order for me – just get anything you want." He suggested, looking at the brown-eyed girl, who instantly squealed and began leafing excitedly through the options. He smiled at her enthusiasm, which also gave him time to check on the other trainer.

Turning to Amy, he felt his chest begin to heave, as if his heart had started warming up. It felt so good to actually feel her beside him. He allowed her Roserade and Masquerain to wander by him, and began absentmindedly petting them both. Her pokemon had grown too – no doubt she was much stronger than the last time they'd met. He found himself feeling empty at this revelation – what good was he now that she could take care of herself?

Maybe it was time to find out?"Amy," He began, somewhat melancholically, "Why don't you tell me about your adventures? We have all way until dinner and so much catching up to do…"

Serena Joy looked out the kitchen window, leaning her elbows out the sill. The sun had just started to set. It was a wonderful feeling, just being bathed in the cool evening air, the last of the orange-pink sunlight reflected against the mountains in the distance. The sky, she noticed, was the same fiery red as Roark's hair. She breathed deeply… Peace, at last-

"AUDINO!"

…And then she promptly remembered why she was in the kitchen in the first place.

Shoving aside a Graveller and a kicking several Geodudes out of the way, she ran towards the oven and rescued the roasting turkey. Behind her, the Audino breathed a sigh of relief.

"Does it look okay?" Serena tilted the dish from side to side to check for burns, her Audino giving her a thumbs-up of approval. "Alright then… Oh! Go get the silverware and get the potatoes ready." Saluting, the normal-type scampered to the drawers, pulling out all the plates and forks and cutlery it could find.

Gently, she laid the bird on the table with the rest of dinner and wiped her forehead. "Phew," She collapsed onto the sofa and closed her eyes. "Roark better like this Riley fellow," She complained to her Audino. "Because I don't. Can you believe it? Asking me to cook for two more people just because he wants me to! Who am I? His maid? Seriously!"

The knocking at the door stopped her Audino from answering.

"Door's open," Serena called, too tired to leave her resting spot. "Just come in or something."

**- J -**

As they approached the table, Amethyst started to plan which seat she should choose.

"_If I sit down near Riley, he'll believe I'm doing it on purpose, and I don't want him to think I'm crazy about him...! Yet..._" She thought. "_But if I avoid him, he could be sad..._"

However, Amethyst didn't have to think anymore, because Stephanie rushed to sit down in front of Riley. Rodent, of course, sat down near his trainer.

Blushing, the young woman took seat near Riley. She waited for Ms. Brown to choose her meal, then had a look at the menu and decided.

"I'd like a chocolate sundae!" Amethyst announced, happily.

Although she wasn't so starving as Stephanie, it had been a long time since she hadn't eaten chocolate.

Amethyst looked at Riley, her eyes full with joy.

"_It'd be pointless to be in a bad mood after eight years without seeing each other._" She thought. "_He might have done things I didn't like in the past, but he never did them to harm me, so..._"

"Thank you very, VERY much for this, Riley." Amethyst said. "If there's anything I can do for you to repay this..."

She then looked at Ms. Brown, who waited for her meal impatiently.

"I'm also glad to have met you, Ms. Brown. We're having a fun time here...!"

The meals were served. While Stephanie ate her meal with anxiety, Amethyst took a spoonful of her ice-cream and offered Lucario.

"Would you like some, Laelaps?" Amethyst asked, gently.

Then, Riley asked her about her adventures. Stephanie seemed interested, too.

"Well, Emerald and I kept travelling for a few years and met a lot trainers." Amethyst explained. "Emerald battled against tons of trainers and polished his skills. I didn't battle a lot, only when I needed to, so I can't say the same about me, hehe."

"We stayed at Kanto for a year, at my friend Pink's house. We had been travelling for several years, so it was kind of a sabbatical year for us. We kept travelling for a couple of years more, and Emerald conquered some Battle Frontiers in other areas, and even some tests at the Pokéathlon in Johto!"

"Now, Emerald is almost 20 years old, he's almost an adult, he has now some needs, so we went separated ways. He went to Hoenn three months ago and I haven't talked to him since then... And I came to Sinnoh because I wanted to enjoy the manners of each town better!"

Both Ms. Brown and Amethyst finished eating and they moved towards Roark's house, which was at the other side of the town.

Speaking of the devil, Roark got into his house as he saw Serena, lying on the sofa, her hot-pink hair scattered among the cushions. If only she was as peaceful as she seemed at that moment...

"I'm home!" Roark announced. "It's been a tough day at the work, but I've had fun!"

Roark approached Serena.

"Say, Serena. Did you encounter Riley? Is he coming finally?"

**- N -**

As the waitress placed their food on the table, Rodent lunged for a chocolate pie in a blur of snarling and cream. When he lifted his head, it looked as if someone had slapped him facefirst into a mud puddle.

"Rodent!" Brown laughed, wiping the rat's face with her sleeve, "You're such a pig!"

She stopped as she heard the older trainer grateful for meeting her. "Ohh, it's nothing, Miss Amy! I should be the one thanking you! If you hadn't stopped those Bidoof, I'd probably still be running to Eterna right now!"

She watched as Amy fed part of her sundae to the large dog pokemon, who for the first time all afternoon, seemed downright excited. Chocolate, it seemed, were to Lucarios what honey was to Winnie the Pooh. Amy must have known that thing for quite a while to know its favourite food. I wonder, Brown thought, how long she's known this Riley fellow.

She didn't ask, though. It seemed things like this were much too private.

As they walked, she thought of all the things Emerald and Amy had done, and all the places they'd seen. It seemed Amy really was a world traveller. She wondered how long it would take for her to be that free, to feel that every city in the world was, more or less, home.

"That sounds amazing," She admitted, "Living in Kanto, seeing the Battle Frontier… wow, I wish I could spend a couple years of my life just exploring."

She tucked Rodent under her arm and gestured to the vast beyond. "Stephanie Brown, World Explorer! No Gold to have to keep calling to tell him you're alright, no Kris always asking if you want to come home, nothing! Just us," She hugged her raticate, "no ties to anyone!"

She noticed Riley looking wistfully at the purple-eyed trainer, as if there was something he had to say but couldn't.

"I don't know about that, Miss Brown," He said, a tinge of sadness on his voice. "When you keep travelling the world like that, you tend to forget the people that are most important to you."

"What do you mean?" Brown raised in eyebrow.

Riley kept silent. "We're here," He went through front door of an apartment house, and began to climb up the stairs, motioning for the girls to follow him. "Roark lives in the penthouse. Can you handle six flights of stairs, Amy?"

"I did," Serena deadpanned. "He's coming at seven,"

"And he wears a fedora," She scolded the ceiling, "that's, like, the most pretentious thing I've ever seen. I swear, Roark, some people have the worst taste in hats-"

She stopped, looking up at Roark leaning over her – and the red hardhelment he liked to wear. She watched the way it wrapped around his usual stock of red curls, gently framing his concerned face… Well, maybe not _all _hats were pretentious.

"Sorry," She bit her lip, reminding herself that Riley was Roark's friend. And, while she enjoyed insulting everything that moved, friends were off-limits. "It's been a rough day." She gestured vaguely at the apartment which, she swore, was probably 20% cleaner than it had been that morning.

"And I got dinner ready, too," at the mention of dinner, the Audino scampered to the table and lifted the lids off several dishes to show the redheaded man. "Riley's got travelling companions, so I cooked for five tonight. I don't know; this just seems very inconvenient to me…"

Serena sat upright, looking at her roommate. He reeked gently of sweat and the coal mines, and his shirt was plastered wetly to his body. He certainly looked like he'd had fun today, but he also looked physically exhausted.

"You okay?" She motioned to this room. "I got some of your good clothes on your bed and a hot shower running in the bathroom," Gently, she pulled his hat off, watching his red curls fall

out from under the helmet. "You can thank me later.""By the way," she added, slightly embarrassed, "how's the, um, the Miner's Dance coming along? Are the miners excited?"

**- J -**

"_When you keep travelling the world like that, you tend to forget the people that are most important to you?_"

"_What did he mean with that?_" Amethyst thought, frowning. "_Is he insinuating that I've forgotten about him? He sure has NO idea that I can never stop thinking about him... And it's been like that for EIGHT years!_"

Amethyst shook her head when Riley asked her. Not only she was annoyed by his insinuation but also by his question. She was a traveller! How could he doubt her?

"Of course!" Amethyst said, looking at Riley firmly. "Hold my hand, Ms. Brown, you're still pretty tired from your adventure with those Bidoofs."

"Haha, it's okay." Roark laughed. "Riley is a pretty good friend, but even I can admit he's somewhat eccentric."

"Oh! So he has brought some friends!" Roark exclaimed, amused. "That's fantastic!"

Roark looked at the food Serena had prepared, impressed.

"Whoa, you sure overdid yourself today." He said. "I'm sure it'll be tasty!"

As soon as Serena told him she had prepared a bath for him, Roark couldn't help but feel slightly surprised. She wasn't usually that nice. Moreover, her huge interest in the Dance pleased him.

"Aha, thank you very much, Serena." Roark said. "I have to be presentable for our guests, haha!"

Roark winked at Serena.

"Well, you see. Some miners are excited, other aren't. I guess you suppose why. Finding a partner can be so difficult, hahaha!"

The ginger went to the bathroom in a very good mood, humming some kind of song they used to sing at work.

Just a few minutes later, someone knocked the door. As soon as the door was opened, a nervous blondie bounced into the house, followed by a petite brunette.

"Chill out, Ms. Brown!" Amethyst exclaimed, yet somewhat amused. "This ain't your house, you know!"

Riley closed the door behind her. Amethyst approached Serena and bowed politely at Serena.

"Good evening, Serena." She said. "First of all, thank you for accepting us in... your house."

Amethyst couldn't help but feel somehow surprised. Wasn't that supposed to be Roark's house?

"_Are they living together?_" Amethyst thought. "_Does that mean they're...?_"

Just a couple of minutes full of introductions later, Roark got into the room, guided by the voices.

"Oh! So you've already arri-!"

"Roark?" Amethyst screamed, perplexed.

Because of the rush, Roark was only wearing a towel around his waist.

"Ah!" Roark exclaimed, recognizing Amethyst. "You are... that brunette from Dialga and Palkia's battle!"

"Y-yes..." Amethyst said, trying not to look. "But, please... Could you...?"

"Oh, yeah!" Roark said, rubbing his head. "I'll get dressed now, just wait a minute. I'll come back now!"


	4. CHAPTER 004: Dinner at Roark's

- N - = Nicky's part

- J - = my part

**Chapter 004 - Dinner at Roark's**

**- N -**

"ROARK!"

Serena gasped at her roomate's appearance. Years of living in a family that wore uniforms everywhere had made her more than worried about dressing up in front of guests.

"ROARK! SHIRT! NOW!" She stammered, her face turning bright red from embarrassment and, something else she wasn't too sure of. Before he finished his sentence about getting dressed, she leapt from the sofa and pushed him, still dripping bathwater, into his room. She shut the door and leaned against it.

She wasn't the only one. The girl they called Brown was holding, hard, onto the bridge of her nose. "…I think my nose is bleeding," She admitted happily. "He's prettier than his dad,"

"Don't get used to it, blondie," Serena narrowed her eyes.

Riley chuckled. "He's not usually that absentminded – I remember when he was serious about everything. Do you know he taught pokemon electric moves to cover their weaknesses…? He's always planned ahead." He admitted, remembering the young gym leader.

Brown's expression fell as she began to worry about battling him. She'd won against Bryon out of the man's own carelessness – how could she stand a chance if Roark was always prepared? Rodent purred against her leg, trying his best to keep her spirits up. Without thinking, she picked up the rat and petted his head absentmindedly.

"He's so chipper now," Riley listed for the sounds of clothes rustling in Roark's room. "Whatever you're doing to him, Serena Joy, keep it up. It makes spending time with him so much more amusing."

Serena smiled, but instead she turned to the tiny brown-haired woman. "Dialga and Palkia?" She asked. "Was that the fight when some nutjob tried to take over the world around ten years ago? _That_ Diagla and Palkia battle?"

"The very one," Riley answered. "Amy here was part of the group of trainers that defeated Team Galactic at the summit of Mount Coronet."

"No way," Brown whispered in awe. "That's so cool!"

"I've got dinner ready," Serena pulled a chair at the dinner table, inviting them down to sit. "Tell me everything,"

As her Audino began distributing mashed potatoes on their plates, Serena rested her chin on her hands. For the first time since forever, Brown noticed, the Joy seemed interested in what they had to say. "I love myths and legends." She added, intrigued. "What did you two do? What did you see? Were the both of you together?"

**- J -**

"Okay! Okay!" Roark protested as Serena pushed him. "Don't push me!"

Amethyst couldn't help but laugh at the scene, not only because it was funny, but also because she felt relieved.

"_She seemed to be blushing._" Amethyst thought, a grin on her face. "_That, and they're living together... I don't know if they're a couple, but I can tell Serena likes Roark, and not Riley! Yay!_"

The feeling that Serena liked Roark got stronger when the pink-head told Ms. Brown to not get used to see Roark without his t-shirt narrowing her eyes.

As soon as Riley finished talking about Roark's manners, Amethyst noticed that Stephanie was notoriously worried. She patted the teenager's shoulder, a warm smile on her face.

"Don't worry, Ms. Brown." She said. "A trainer shouldn't depend always on type advantages. If Rodent is a few levels over Roark's pokémon, you should manage to win."

The young woman stroked Rodent's hair with her hand. She had made Dew and Maki get back into their pokéballs, unlike Stephanie.

"Also, don't forget," Amethyst added. "that I can lend you my Roserade if you want."

Her expression turned more serious when Serena asked her about the final battle against Dialga and Palkia.

"Yes." Amethyst said, firmly; she gave Stephanie a sidelong glance. "Well, Ms. Brown, I didn't want to tell you yet, but I guess I have to do it. I'm a Dexholder, a Hoenn Dexholder, and so my brother is, but I think you already knew that about him."

"When we met Diamond, a Sinnoh Dexholder, at Iron Island, we decided to help him and his friends. They were our comrades, after all. Hence, we accompanied them to the final battleground, along with Ms. Champion Cynthia."

As Serena leaded them to the table and they started to sit down, Amethyst kept explaining to Serena, who seemed surprisingly interested.

"I must admit I didn't do much in that battle." Amethyst shrugged. "When us, the Dexholder and Ms. Cynthia, arrived, the Gym Leader had been already beaten. I can't really remember about Roark, though. I think he was hidding underground with his father, Prof. Serbal and Platina's father, doing some research."

Amethyst looked at Riley, shyly.

"To be honest, all I did when I got there was go to help Riley, who was battling against Team Galactic Commanders at the bottom of some stairs." The young woman said. "It was a short battle: the Commanders escaped and Riley went after them, so I went back with my brother and the Sinnoh Dexholders. My friend Diamond was making an incredible speech..."

"It was a tough battle, and the fact that the Team Galactic Leader was crazy didn't help, to be honest. Thanks to our friends' wisdom, willpower and emotions, they managed to land the final blow. Cyrus was defeated and Palkia and Dialga stopped figthing. Well, after that, Giratina appeared and kidnapped Dialga, Palkia and Cyrus, but... that's another topic."

Roark got into the room, finally dressed properly.

"Sorry for the wait!" He said. "What were you talking about?"

**- N -**

"You seem awful relieved," Brown peered into the older trainer's face. "What's going on?"

She smiled, as Amy comforted her fears about battling Roark; it felt good to know someone was there for her. But borrowing Dew? She bit her lip. Dew had been tame and sweet all afternoon, but even then, there was no telling how the Roaserade would behave on the battlefield, or if it'd attack her the moment she called it out of the ball. Gold's Explotaro still enjoyed pouncing on her even after all the years she'd spent befriending the stupid Typhlosion.

Rodent bristled, shaking himself like a wet dog. "Raticate!" The rat protested, refusing the proposal.

"He's right. I appreciate the offer, Miss Amy, but I can't accept Dew." Brown admitted, before lowering her voice to a whisper. "Ever since I got my pokedex, I've always had to rely on the other dexholders' help – Ruby gave me these shoes when I visited Hoenn… and Sapphire and Emerald taught me how to battle… and Kris keeps teaching me how to defend myself from wild pokemon… and Gold gave me a place to live when my parents went away…"

"Ticate!"

"And he gave me you, too!" She hugged the rat, and checked to make sure no one else could hear her. "See, Miss Amy, when I was younger, I wanted a badge… so Professor Oak asked his grandson to battle me. I only won because he let me – Green told me so himself. He also said that I didn't deserve the pokedex I had, that I didn't do anything to prove myself. I mean, Gold can breed pokemon well, and Kris can catch things… what can I do? I don't battle often, and I don't have a full team… Without everyone helping me, I'm pretty much useless.

"Rodent and I… well, we want to prove to him that we're not handicapped. We can do it, and we can do it without everyone doting on us." Her Raticate nodded in agreement. "This is something we have to do on our own-ohhhhHMIGOD! ARE THOSE MASHED POTATOES?"

She turned to the dinner table, practically drooling, and grabbed a seat before needing to be told. Rodent jumped onto the table and began attacking the bowl of mash, much to the annoyance of the Audino holding it.

"Noaudi!" It scolded. "Audi!""Riiicate," Rodent stuck his tongue out at the pink pokemon and continued to eat until Brown pulled him away. She had begun to listen to Amy again.

"So you _were_ a dexholder too, weren't you?" Brown bit her lip, somewhat embarrassed. "I guess I really should've guessed when you told me you knew Gold and Kris… or when you said Emerald was your brother!"

"Shhhssh," Serena put a finger against her lips. "This is interesting!"

"Roark never told me he was at the battle," She admitted. Then again, she thought, he doesn't tell me anything much – I find out things for myself.

"So you really saw Giratina and Diagla and Palkia with your own eyes?" She finally asked when the petite young lady finished her story and her Audino had started distributing the turkey. "That's incredible. I mean… wow. Were they big? Did Giratina really appear from another world? I've read all the books about them. The myths in Sinnoh keep saying they bend space and time, but I don't think it's possible."

Riley tried his best not to laugh – warping the space-time continuum was definitely not just a myth. Had the Joy been in Sinnoh that day, she would have seen just how real the two legendaries and their powers a corner of his eye, he thought he caught Amy turning towards him, but when he turned his head to check, she was continuing her story. He tried his best not to look disappointed.

"I'm studying legendary pokemon, you see," Serena explained, wondering whether this Amy had gotten tired of her questions yet. "It's my college thesis. I'm doing folklore and anthropology back in Castelia City. We only have one major myth in Unova – it's about a dragon pokemon and two brothers – but Sinnoh… wow… Sinnoh's got so many myths: Arceus creating the world, Regigigas ruling over the titan pokemon… wow, just wow. It's wonderful here."

"So you're here studying fairytales?" Brown asked, her mouth full of turkey and dripping gravy. "Isn't that… I dunno… kinda childish?"

Serena narrowed her eyes. "I don't expect someone like you to understand it," She crossed her arms. "Myths form the fabric of our cultures, and sometimes they ask you to question yourself, especially if you find out they're true." She added, darting a glance at Roark's room.

As Roark came out, she turned her attention back to her plate, hoping no one caught her staring.

"Hmm," Riley rested his check against his hand pensively. "I don't suppose you're also studying the recent Zoroark sightings near Oreburgh, Serena? That would make for an interesting thesis – 'Zoroark, fact of fiction?'" He held his hands in the air, as if to frame up the title.

"Z-zo-Zoroark?" Serena stammered, "Don't be silly – they're a Unovvian myth. I've never heard of one in Sinnoh. Frankly, I don't think they exist. Luxray are easy to mistake for Zoroarks, and so are Lucarios."

If Riley had learnt anything, he kept silent. Serena tried desperately to read his expression, but his facial features seemed as unmoving as his Lucario's. How much _did_ this Riley fellow know? She wondered.

She perked up quickly as Roark took a seat at the table with her, trying her best to disguise her worry.

"We were just talking about the Battle of Spear Pillar," She explained to the gym leader. "You never told me you saw Diagla and Palkia. That's interesting."

**- J -**

"Haha, it's okay, I understand. Actually, I really know how you feel..."

Amethyst smiled with sorrow. She didn't seem to mind the fact that Rodent was jumping in front of her.

"Before becoming a Dexholder," The young woman said. "I was nothing but a burden to the other Dexholders, specially to Green... I always wanted to help them, but all he did was call me a 'busy-body'... Uh, how could I like a guy like him? Well, I was only 12 after all..."

She flinched when Stephanie started eating the potatoes as crazy. Just like Emerald would have done. He might be an adult already, but his manners were the same as always.

"To be honest," Amethyst added, rubbing her head. "I didn't tell you I'm a Dexholder because I didn't want you to feel intimidated... I did the same with Diamond, hehe."

The purple-eyed woman felt somehow proud when she noticed Serena was so interested in her story. A busy researcher like Serena interested in Amethyst's adventures? That could only happen in her dreams!

"Yeah, they were huge." Amethyst said, her eyes brilliant as she remembered that day. "And their attacks were so powerful... Such an amazing power... No wonder they annoyed Giratina so much!"

"That's right." The young lady added, nodding. "Sinnoh is such an interesting region... You forgot about the Lake Guardians! I saw 'em too! They were so cute...!"

Amethyst wasn't tired at her questions at all. She wasn't one who liked to be the center of attention, but she really appreciated when someone showed interest in her stories.

"Aah, that looks so tasty!" Amethyst exclaimed, slapping as the turkey was served. "Roark'd better come already or he'll miss this delicious meal!"

However, Amethyst's expression turned more serious when Riley mentioned the Zoroark event. She looked at him and at Serena alternatively, curiously.

"_She seems somewhat nervous now, or am I seeing things?_" Amethyst thought, staring at Serena.

She turned her head to look back at Riley.

"_He seems to enjoy making Serena get nervous, however._" Amethyst frowned. "_Or he knows something? Gaah... I can't tell... Riley is so..._"

Amethyst thoughts were interrupted by Roark's arrival.

"Oh! The battle against Dialga and Palkia?" Roark said. "Well, you see, Serena, I was knocked out, so I hardly remember anything..."

The ginger looked at Amethyst, who was still wondering about Riley's intentions.

"In fact," Roark added. "I'm even surprised to remember your face. But again, I think you don't forget such big purple eyes like those, right, Riley?"

Roark winked and Amethyst frowned, without knowing whether to blush or feel annoyed.

"Come on, Roark." Amethyst said; she didn't want more jokes. "The turkey will get cold!"

"Green Oak?" Brown gasped, incredulous. "You liked Green Oak?"

**- N -**

Riley stopped eating, his fork halfway between his plate and his mouth. Suddenly, he hadn't quite the appetite as he'd had before. It couldn't be, he assured himself. Amy was too clever for that. She would never, ever…

"Did you guys ever date?" Brown asked coyly. "I'd like to see Green do something nice for someone. The day he does something nice for me will be the day I take off all my clothes and dance naked in the rain."

"Rarrr," Rodent shuddered. Clearly, he wasn't too keen on joining his trainer in that bet.

Riley chewed slowly, she had been twelve back then, but was there still the chance that she… No. No, Riley, he shook his head. You can't jump to conclusions like this. She still loves you, the way you love her. She has to.

He had told her she wasn't ready, hadn't he? He'd chased her away. Why had he simply assumed she still cared for him the way she used to after all this time? It had been years, after all. She must've moved on – found other men, other chances for love – and it was all his fault.

He looked down and focused his attention on the tablecloth, trying his best not to look upset.

_"In fact," Roark added. "I'm even surprised to remember your face. But again, I think you don't forget such big purple eyes like those, right, Riley?"_

"Oh?" He looked up at his friend, blinking slightly from being interrupted in his thoughts. "Oh, yes, those eyes are truly something," He answered wistfully. "You could never forget those eyes."

It was a lie. He had forgotten her – spending all those years wandering the world, away from her, he'd forgotten all the little things about her – he forgot the way she tilted her head when she talked, the way her lips curled upwards awkwardly when she smiled, the way her voice went up and down with her emotions. Being with her now suddenly reminded him of every single thing about her – the shape of her nose, her eyelashes, and, yes, those purple eyes that sparkled when she laughed. It was like she was back from the dead.

He left her and he forgot her. And now, it was time for him to regret it.

"Did you get a concussion?" Serena furrowed her brow, looking slightly worried at the thought of Roark unconscious and suffering for major brain damage. "Concussions lead to stroke," She added, sounding disturbingly like a regular Joy. Starve a fever, feed a cold. Illnesses and their cures were something every Joy could remember, whether they wanted to be nurses or not.

"Audino," her audino chuckled, miming the way Roark put on his helmet every morning.

"Right. Hardhat," She sighed, relieved. There was no way Roark would be dumb enough to go up against legendary pokemon without protection. Still, he made her worried. Why did she always worry about him?

She glanced at the Riley fellow, who seemed preoccupied with something else. Good. The less talk about Zoroarks, the better. Hoping to change the subject, she looked to Amy and the younger trainer (who had started licking gravy off her fingers).

"So, are you two going to the Miner's Dance?" She asked.

**- J -**

Amethyst laughed hard at the sole idea of Green dating her. Now, it sounded so awful to her...

"Hahaha, well!" Amethyst exclaimed, still laughing. "I was young and silly! When you're young, you tend to like the hottest guy no matter his personality."

Stephanie's funny words made her laugh even more. It all sounded so absurd! Even Rodent seemed slightly surprised because of Amethyst's loud laughters.

"Hell, no! I was only twelve!" The young woman screamed, shaking her head. "To be honest... Well, this is quite embarrassing, but..."

Amethyst took a sip of wine, a slight blush on her face.

"Umh, I've never dated anyone..." She finally said, ashamed. "I've always been focused in my passion for travelling, so it would have been impossible for me to date someone, anyway."

Blushing harder, Amethyst looked at Riley from the corner of her eye. He seemed to be immersed in his thoughts...

"I'm actually waiting for my perfect man..."

"Don't be silly, Amethyst!" Roark exclaimed. "Staying and waiting isn't the best choice! You have to go for it (or him, in this case)!"

Amethyst looked at Roark, perplexed.

"I-I thought you were a serious person..." She muttered.

"I am." Roark said, determined. "But it would be a waste for a beautiful lady like you to keep waiting forever... And any other pretty woman, of course!"

His red hair waving in the air, Roark turned to look at Serena.

"Yeah, of course I was wearing a hard hat, don't be so worried, Serena!" He exclaimed, a strangely warm smile on his face. "Anyway, the ones who knocked me and the other Gym Leaders were the Team Galactic commanders, not Dialga or Palkia."

"Yes, I forgot to add that, sorry." Amethyst said, nodding; she turned to Roark. "Thanks goodness you remembered it, because I was sure you were hiding underground with your father in that battle!"

"Haha, no." Roark laughed. "My father was with Prof. Rowan and Mr. Berlitz, I was battling along the other Gym Leaders."

Suddenly, Amethyst couldn't help but blush at Serena's question.

"O-oh! I hadn't thought about that!" She said, nervous. "I just... wanted to have a look, I didn't intend of participating...!"

"Oh, come on, Amethyst!" Roark exclaimed. "I will be leading the Dance! I'd love it if you join!"

"But I suck at dancing..." Amethyst stuttered.

She didn't dare look at Riley's face. She simply couldn't. She focused her eyes on her plate, still wondering what she would do.

Why couldn't she be so happy-go-lucky as Ms. Brown?


	5. CHAPTER 005: Roark and Serena's secret

- N - = Nicky's part

- J - = my part

**Chapter 005 - Roark and Serena's secret**

**- N -**

Riley chewed slowly, wondering what she'd meant by that – hadn't she found happiness with him? Wasn't he her perfect man? …Maybe she'd realised he wasn't right for her? Maybe she was still looking for someone better?

He was about to ask her what he meant by that before Roark broke in - with more passion Riley had ever seen in the Oreburgh gym leader in a long, long time.

Serena tried her best not to gasp as Roark darted a glance in her direction. Had he called her… a pretty woman? She smiled despite herself – Roark was rarely ever that direct, it was nice to see him excited about something other than fossils.

"He's right, you know," Serena nodded with the redheaded man. "Keep waiting for the right person and the next thing you know, he might've passed you by. I always assert myself whenever I want something."

It was true, Serena thought, she'd been the one who asked to live with Roark, she'd been the only Joy in her family assertive enough to tell her parents she didn't want to be a nurse, she'd gone and done every odd job imaginable so she could pay tuition…

…So why wasn't she asserting herself with Roark?

She stopped when she heard Amethyst's fear of dancing. She sucked at dancing? Really?

"They normally start out with a waltz first – they're easy," Serena promised, slightly amused. "Just follow the music and try not to step on your partner."

She stood up of her chair and extended her hands to her roommate. "Come on, Roark," She bit her lip to stop the goofy smile that was starting to grow on her face. "Show Amy here how it's done – you need the practice."

"This," Brown whispered out of the corner of her mouth at Amy, "is going to be interesting."

**- J -**

Amethyst blinked, looking at Serena. Even Ms. Joy was giving her advice! She wasn't used to people caring that much about her, so Amethyst couldn't help but smile with sorrow.

"Oh, Serena, he HAS passed by me." She said, blushing. "Believe me. He has..."

The young woman looked down, her purple eyes filled with sadness. She had met a lot of men in her journey, and a few of them even asked her out, but she had rejected them all... The reason was sitting near her.

But Riley didn't seem to be doing anything. Or at least that's what it seemed, because Amethyst didn't dare look at him.

Stephanie's clapping interrupted her thoughts. Amethyst looked at the jovial girl, who was paying attention to Serena. The Joy was lending her hand towards Roark.

"B-but... now?" Roark asked, incredulous.

"_Now I know why Ms. Brown says this is going to be interesting._" Amethyst thought, amused.

"Well, you see." Roark said. "Now I'm not prepared..."

"But, Roark!" Amethyst exclaimed, a grin on her round face. "Aren't you the one who's going to lead the Dance?"

Roark looked at Amethyst, frowning. Serena was standing behind him, her hands on her hips. He gulped, kind of nervous. Why was he nervous anyway?

His crimson eyes rested on the pink-haired woman that was behind him. Little by little, Roark stood up and approached Serena.

"Ms. Brown, please, be quiet." Amethyst said, trying not to laugh at Stephanie's enthusiasm.

Roark gulped and placed his right hand on Serena's waist.

"Here we go..." Roark said.

They started their small demonstration. Roark wasn't that much of a great dancer, but still he wasn't so brute as his father.

"_He's obviously made to mine and research instead of dance..._" Amethyst thought, a small smile on her face.

However, although Roark wasn't the best dancer, the gentle way he held her hand and her waist made Amethyst change her mind.

"Aww." She said, her eyes brilliant. "Although dancing isn't my thing, I really wish someone treated me that gently..."

Amethyst turned to Stephanie, looking at her big, brown eyes. The young woman gave the teenager a huge smile.

"Doesn't it make you wish your dance was like that?" Amethyst asked, happily.

Roark stopped and looked at Serena firmly.

"I hope 'the lady' is satisfied now!" He exclaimed.

Amethyst finished her meal.

"I'm done!" She exclaimed.

"Ah, I forgot!" Roark said, putting his hands on his head. "I was so engrossed with the demonstration... Now the turkey will be cold...!"

Roark rushed to finish his dish. Amethyst looked at Serena, with a gentle smile.

"Thanks so much for the meal, Serena." She said, nodding. "It was all delicious!"

Amethyst looked at Stephanie, who was licking her fingers.

"Don't you agree, Ms. Brown?" She turned to Riley, blushing. "Riley?"

**- N -**

It was hard disliking Amy, not when she was so polite. Plus she had to give the girl props for bravery – not just anyone could look a legendary in the eye and come back alive – and not to mention she'd been there protecting Roark… that took guts, more guts than her tiny body looked like it had.

"Maybe it's time you became a little more direct?" She suggested. "Don't let the next man go – grab him, tell him how you feel,"

Before she could catch her reply, however, Roark had taken her hand. Her Audino pushed the button on the music player, and the familiar First Dance's music filled the room.

Serena tried her best to ignore the wave of excitement that ran up her body as Roark's hand made contact with her waist. Instead, she looked down at her feet, making sure she didn't step on Roark's – she could dance just fine, but Roark's sense of rhythm usually made it feel like she was dancing with a Scolipede.

One two three, one two three…

She kept count quietly in her head, aware of her audience. It seemed Roark was starting to get self-conscious, too – he was oddly in sync with her. Everything from the way he held her hand, to the gentle way he stepped back and forth, he was amazing! Had he been practicing by himself? Serena wondered. Whatever the case was, she'd underestimated his dancing.

His hair bounced lightly as he moved, framing his sharp serious face, probably hardened with concentration. Serena caught his gaze, and for a moment, looked into his eyes – those gorgeous, beautiful dark eyes – and wondered what he was thinking.

She fought the urge to rest her head on his strong shoulders, to breathe in the smell of soap on his chest, to feel completely one with him…

…And like that it was over. The music died down and the world shifted back into normalcy. It wasn't just the two of them anymore, and she became increasingly conscious of the other people in the room.

She hid her disappointment as they stopped moving, Roark looking firmly into her face now.

_"I hope 'the lady' is satisfied now!" He exclaimed._

Oh, I'm more than satisfied, she thought dreamily, but then snapped herself together. "That was… pretty alright," She shrugged. "You're getting better at this,"

Better? That had been amazing.

She let him return to his dinner, and watched slightly amused as he wolfed down his meal like a starving lunatic. Mining certainly worked up an appetite.

"It's an old family recipe," She added, nonchalant, but smiling despite herself. "Every Joy knows how to cook – where do you think all the food in pokemon centres come from?"

With her Audino's help, she cleared the table, stacking the used plates in her arms. (And ignoring the Brown girl's protests that she wasn't done licking her plate.) She waited until Roark had finished his meal before tapping him lightly on the shoulder to follow her.

"Excuse us," She muttered to the table.

Shoving Roark discreetly into the kitchen, she closed the door gently shut behind her, checking if anyone could still hear her. Satisfied no one would overhear, she turned to her roommate. The kitchen was dark, and she couldn't make out his expression in the moonlight.

"I… I don't know how to put this," She finally began, "but I've been so worried all day, this is driving me insane."

Anxiously, she played with the hem of her dress. "Roark, how much did you tell Riley? About the whole… full moon… business…?" She searched the darkness for any hint of emotion coming from him. "I know he's a friend, and I know… I know I'm overprotective..." She went to the window and leaned her elbows out of the sill, letting the moonlight wash over her.

Arceus! The skies were so clear, and such a lovely shade of dark blue. The starlight turned the unused machinery in the mine nearby into sculptures, work of art even. She shifted to a side, giving some Roark space in case he wanted to join her in the window. The moon was growing large and white.

"I guess I'm just worried," She added, shrugging. "This is something big, I mean we can't go around parading… your condition… And I don't want you getting hurt by anyone."

She closed her eyes, imagining being bathed in moonlight, trying her best not to worry.

For a brief moment, Riley thought of following them – his backside was already off the chair, and his hand was raised to pick up their aura – but something held him back. He stood in his place, wanting desperately to hear what Serena had to say, but something was much more important.

"Who wants to bet they're making out in there right now?" Brown whispered to the older woman next to her, watching the closed kitchen door. "Ten bucks says they're using tongues,"

Amy.

She was sitting by herself, looking so small, so vulnerable. He'd noticed an expression of longing on her delicate face as she watched Roark and Serena dance. It was still there. She seemed so lost, so… so…

…So lonely…

He wanted to wrap his arms around her, to let her bushy brown hair brush against his neck, to whisper in her ear how he'd never let her be lonely again. But he held himself back – no, he couldn't rush this – what if he drove her away again?

Gently, he rested his hand on top of hers, and rubbed his thumb against it. He'd taken off his gloves when dinner began, and for the first time since they'd met this afternoon, he noticed just how cold she was. He felt the urge to warm her up, to keep her snug and loved and protected.

"Are you alright?" He smiled at her. "You seem a little lost in your thoughts."

**- J -**

After listening to Serena's advice carefully, Amethyst couldn't help but blush a little. She stirred in her seat, somewhat uncomfortable.

"I-I'm too shy, I'm afraid..." Amethyst stuttered, looking down. "When I'm in front of the guy I like... I... I just can't t-talk properly..."

Maybe that was a too obvious hint for Riley, she thought. But anyway, he already knew she liked him, or didn't he?

Roark wasn't able to perceive Serena's excitement as they 'danced'. He was a guy, he had to be dense, after all. He had enough with being nervous himself.

"_Although Roark isn't the best dancer,_" Amethyst thought. "_she seems to be enjoying it._"

"_She's so graceful._" Roark was thinking as they danced, looking at Serena. "_If only she was so docile the rest of the time..._"

Roark was a serious man who took seriously all his work and stuff, but even he sometimes needed some fun, and Serena was so strict... However, that strict face of hers made her seem like his perfect woman. Somewhat.

"_But why am I thinking about these things?_" Roark thought, perplexed.

And that was when the demonstration ended. Roark rushed to finish his meal. Amethyst was right. It was so tasty!

"Aaah!" Roark exclaimed, satisfied. "True! This tasted so amazingly well, Serena!"

Roark cleaned his mouth with a serviette.

"I'm used to your awesome meals," He said. "but this time you really overdid yours- Eeh? What happens, Serena?"

Shocked because Serena grabbed him for his shoulder to take him away, Roark couldn't help but feel surprised. Maybe she wanted to dance again!

Serena took him to the kitchen. It was all in semi-darkness, what made Roark feel somehow nervous. Again.

What did she want? Roark gulped while he waited for Serena to talk, or do something.

"_She seems... nervous._" Roark thought, looking at the pink-haired woman.

As soon as the Joy asked her question, Roark felt relieved. So it was just that? He was worried that something could have happened to her.

"Oh, don't worry." Roark said, a gentle smile on his face. "I never told him anything. I told you not to tell anyone, remember? Then, it would have been ironical if I told someone, don't you think?"

However, although Roark was relieved that nothing bad was happening to Serena, his expression turned more serious. That was a very important matter for him, and they shouldn't treat it lightly.

"I guess you're saying that because someone mentioned it while I was absent, am I right?" Roark said, seriously. "Well, you must have done a good job if they didn't mention it anymore, but you know, NEVER, EVER talk about that issue, okay?"

Maybe he was sounding repetitive, but it was something he had to clear up.

However, Roark felt a bit sorry for Serena when he looked at her. She seemed still some nervous, but also kind of in a daze looking at the moon.

The light of the moon was reflected on her face. She looked so angelical when she was calmed...

"Well, maybe you're worrying too much." Roark said, approaching Serena. "But I'm also being too repetitive with this matter, so we're at peace."

A warm smile crossed across Roark's face as he approached Serena. He put his hands on her shoulders. Her blue eyes were reflected in his dark crimson eyes.

"Just avoid this matter as much as you can and leave it up to me." Roark told her, firmly.

They stared at each other for a few minutes, in silence.

"Well, shouldn't we go back with our guests?" Roark said, tilting his head. "We have still to talk about what we're going to do with them tonight. Will we let them stay here?"

Amethyst noticed Riley's desire to follow Roark and Serena.

"_I didn't know he was 'like that'._" Amethyst thought, incredulous.

Stephanie's words interrupted her thoughts.

"_Ten bucks says they're using tongues."_

Amethyst blushed hard. She was so dumb when it came to love issues.

"Ms. Br-Brown!" The chestnut-head said, embarrassed. "Don't...! Don't say that! So what if they are? I mean... They're adults..."

She bit her tongue. Amethyst was sure that Stephanie was thinking she was retarded. Her mood changes were so drastic, after all... Anything related to love or 'something else' simply made her blush. Amethyst was so ashamed of that. She was 24, dammit!

Something made her flinch. Amethyst automatically stopped listening to Stephanie's words and looked at her right. She would have never figured Riley would be holding her hand...

"R-Riley...!" Amethyst thought, her eyes totally opened and a hard blush on her face.

He had noticed. Totally. She was sure of that.

"Oh, i-it's n-nothing... Riley..." Amethyst muttered, slowly. "I was just thinking... about... some things, hehe."

Amethyst blushed even more as that silly laugh came out from her mouth. She looked directly at Riley's eyes, and it was there when she remembered she was madly in love with him. It had been like that since she was sixteen...

"I-I..." Amethyst stuttered, in a daze while she found herself lost in Riley's deep blue eyes. "Did you enjoy the meal, Riley? It was so tasty~!"

Unlike a few hours before, Amethyst didn't move her hand. It felt so... warm. She had totally forgotten about Stephanie. And everything.

What a silly moment, wasn't it?

**- N -**

Serena looked at Roark in the moonlight, and saw the moon reflected on his glasses. She admired the way the light caught his red hair and highlighted his chiselled profile. He looked like a statue, with his long straight nose and those sweet gentle lips… What she'd give to put her lips to his face, just to show him she'd be there for him.

It did her good to know he hadn't been stupid enough to tell anyone else, not to mention it put her mind at ease, finally. Oddly enough, it made her feel special – the only other human being that knew his secret. She had him all to herself there, and that was an incredible feeling.

_"Just avoid this matter as much as you can and leave it up to me."_

She looked at his eyes as he turned to face her; those gorgeously sad dark eyes that made her feel weak in her knees.

"Thank you, Roark," She finally said, resting her hand against the side of his jaw, her thumb stroking his cheek. Excitement ran up her veins, this was the closest they'd ever been in weeks. It made her wonder whether this was all a very elaborate dream; this could never be real, not the way he was looking at her.

Half of her expected Roark's face to warp under her hands – fur growing, jaws sprouting sharp teeth – the familiar face she knew transforming into a snarling parody of him. But, here he was, the same as ever. It felt so reassuring, so good.

She hadn't noticed she'd been holding onto his face for well over a minute. She pulled herself back and tried to hide the blush that was growing over her face.

"Y-you're right, we'd better go check on them."

Amy's face was deep red, and flustered beyond belief. Riley drew his hand away – was he rushing it? Had he scared her?

"I'm sorry, Amy, I - AAAUUGH!"

It was the most intense vision he'd ever had. Screaming, he dropped from his chair to the ground, clutching at his temples. Images flooded his mind – a blur of bright colours, wave upon wave of messy indistinct pictures, the sounds of crashing and voices, voices babbling away in words too fast for him to grasp…

What was happening to him? Didn't it usually take concentration for him to see visions?

Another blurry picture rushed past his eyes, the colour so bright it seared his vision. He screamed wretchedly, anything to make it stop. His visions were usually dreamlike and faded, why were they so intense here? The visions came, faster and faster, burning his mind and threatening to exploded his head until…

…Until he recognised what he was seeing.

A rush of bushy brown hair, a purple dress, and the crash of the waves all around them. Sunset on Iron Island... And his Amy was crying.

'I'm flattered,' he heard his voice say, echoing through the expanse of his mind. 'Truly, I am, Amethyst.'

'But it's a 'no', isn't it?' She was forcing back her tears, he noticed.

'Wait until you're older, Amy.' In his mind, he rested a hand on her shoulder, the other reaching out to cup her tiny chin in his hand. 'This isn't the right time… for either of us.'

The image blurred again, fading, gently back into reality. He was looking at Roark's dining room from the floor.

"LUCARIO!"

"Good giant blue dog thing!" he vaguely heard a voice say. His head still pounded, but he was aware of the carpet against his cheek, and the fetal position he was crouching in.

Stephanie Brown was hugging his Lucario, the pokemon's eyes glowing with the effort it had taken it snap him out of his trance. "Whosagoodboy?" The teenager cooed, "Whooosagoodboy? Who's the greatest aura blocking bipedial blue dog in the wuuuurld? You are, Laelaps, you are!"

He tried to talk, but all he could manage was "Aaaaaaami…"

Amy. He smiled. She loved him. Her aura had been that strong, he felt it without even needing to try. How long had she been waiting for him?

Stephanie and his Lucario were already kneeling on the floor beside him, wondering what to do next.

"Aamy," He attempted again. "Amy…"

"You're going to need rest," Another voice said firmly, Riley saw a pair of pink shoes stand by his head. Serena Joy. "No questions – you lot are definitely sleeping here tonight."

"Iii'm okaaay," He forced himself to say. "Never betterrr,"

His brain felt like it had been through a blender and he'd just had a seizure on his friend's carpet. But he meant every word he'd said: He'd never felt better. For the first time since that day on Iron Island, he finally knew Amy still felt the same way about him.

At least, he thought that was what his vision meant. There was only one way to find out if it was true, but that would require asking Amy herself, and he wasn't too sure he had the courage for that. Not yet at least.

"I'm sorry if you made plans for a hostel or anything," Serena added, speaking to Amy. "But it's probably best if Riley rests here for the night – moving him might give him another seizure. But if you like, you're welcome to stay here,"

She felt somewhat self-conscious with being so generous with Roark's home, but it'd help them all to keep a watch on Riley. Besides being a comatose whimpering piece of meat in need of medical attention, there was no telling what he'd find out about Roark if she let him go for the night.

Stephanie Brown recalled the large blue dog pokemon back into its Pokeball, Rodent sniffing curiously at the semi-conscious man. Riley was busy fighting the sleepiness that had come over him.

"Do we get to pick our rooms and all that?" Brown asked, excited.

"Don't get your hopes up, Blondie" Serena crossed her arms. The younger trainer still had yet to grow on her like Amethyst had. "We only have two rooms. Roark has his room and I have mine – and I'll be damned if I let you pick wherever the hell you're going to sleep."

"Darn," she kicked the carpet, her Raticate mimicking her.

"Riley can sleep with Roark tonight, and you girls can share my room," She suggested, "Or, if you need to be with Riley, Amy, Roark can share my room with me."

It was only when she'd finished her sentence did she realise what she's just suggested. Roark? Her? In bed? Together? As much as she'd enjoy that, what would Roark think?

Even the younger trainer had caught on.

"Smooth," Brown rested her chin in her hands, looking smug, "like sandpaper."


	6. CHAPTER 006: Brown's discovery

- N - = Nicky's part

- J - = my part

**Chapter 006 - Brown's discovery and misunderstandings!**

**- J -**

"S'okay, Serena." Roark muttered, brushing the hot-pink hair. "S'okay..."

The same way Serena had been holding onto his face for a minute without even noticing it, Roark was brushing her hair, distracted by the moonlight. It was all so relaxing...

"_She doesn't feel as usually._" Roark thought, feeling Serena close to him.

Everything was so strange to him...

As they moved to go out from the kitchen, Roark arched his eyebrows:

"What the...?" He asked. "I think I heard a noise..."

-x-x-x-

Amethyst tried to hide her disappointment the best she could when Riley drove the hand away.

"Oh, n-no, Riley!" She exclaimed. "You didn't- Kyaah!"

The young woman stood up quickly as Riley fell to the ground, his hands on his head. He wouldn't stop screaming, which made Amethyst tremble with terror.

"Riley!" Amethyst shouted. "Riley! What happens?"

She was so shocked she couldn't do anything to help him. It was always the same... When something dangerous happened, Amethyst would be too shocked to do anything. She hated that!

"Please, Ms. Brown!" The purple-eyed female screamed. "Help me...!"

But Stephanie had enough dealing with Lucario. His trainer kept shaking on the floor. Amethyst put her hands on her head, desperate, her eyes filled with tears.

"Riley!" Amethyst squealed. "Please...!"

In that moment, Riley stopped screaming, lying on the floor, somewhat dizzy, or that was what looked like. Amethyst turned her head to see Stephanie hugging Lucario, whose eyes were glowing.

"Thanks goodness..." Amethyst whispered.

Apparently, the Lucario Laelaps had saved his trainer. Amethyst didn't know how, but at that moment she didn't really care.

Her hands on her chest, Amethyst panted, gasping. She looked back at Riley, who was stretching his arm towards her, a dreamy expression on his face.

"Eek..." The young woman muttered, stepping back.

She didn't know what to do, or how to feel. Riley's expression was very odd, too. Was he... smiling? But why? Maybe he did drugs or something?

Nah, that was impossible. But why wouldn't he stop saying her name?

"What... What's happening?" Amethyst asked, somehow scared. "Ri-Riley?"

It was then when Serena and Roark stepped in the room. While Serena, her hands on her waist, looked at the group firmly, Roark was terribly worried about his friend.

"Riley!" Roark exclaimed. "What's happened?"

He looked at Stephanie and Lucario, who were the ones closest to the man.

"It looks like he had a seizure... or something like that." Amethyst said, putting her hand on Roark's shoulder. "But Lucario saved him... I'm afraid that the power of Aura is too much for a human..."

She looked back, someone was talking to her. She exchanged glances with Serena; her purple eyes met her blue ones in the air.

"B-but I don't want to be a burden..." Amethyst stuttered.

"Oh, you'd never be a burden to us, Amethyst!" Roark said, friendly. "You and your friend Stephanie have really cheered us up tonight, we can't let you sleep out in the open!"

Amethyst looked down, blushing. As usually, her quietness contrasted with Stephanie's enthusiasm.

Roark looked at Serena as soon as she told them her second suggestion.

"That's a good option." He said. "I'm not one to take care of others, to be honest. I'm more of a worker."

He looked back at Stephanie and Amethyst.

"But what do we do with the young girl?" He asked, scratching his head.

"Hey, wait a moment." Amethyst said, blushing as hell. "I-I can sleep at the sitting room, really... I'm used to sleep on sofas anyway... What if Ms. Brown sleeps with Riley? I would feel bad if I made her sleep at the sofa..."

"But YOU are the one who knows Riley best, Amethyst." Roark said. "And you're really careful and attentive..."

"Bu-but...!"

Roark, with Serena's help, took Riley to one room.

"This will do." Roark said, helping Riley to lie on the bed. "You know, Amethyst, take care of him."

Amethyst grumbled as Roark and Serena got out from the room. She sat down on the bed, near Riley, who seemed to be sleeping already.

"My poor dear..." Amethyst said, brushing Riley's dark blue hair gently.

-x-x-x-

Roark and Serena went to the other room. As soon as they stepped in, Roark stretched.

"Uwahh... Today has been a tough day, hasn't it?" He asked.

**- N -**

Rodent sighed from his trainer's shoulders as the older trainer began to stammer. If Amy was going to tarry on who was going to sleep where much longer, he was going to have to do something. With an annoyed chitter, the Raticate sprang from Brown to the sofa, curling peacefully against an embroidered cushion.

"We'll take the couch," Brown added, "I love sleeping on couches… really!" She leaned in to Amy, whispering conspiratorially, "Remember Gold? When I first had to live with him, he made me sleep on his couch for weeks until we got a mattress!" She vaguely remembered the first few months she'd spent getting to know her mentor, feeling slightly melancholic – suddenly, being eleven seemed a lot further away than it'd ever been before.

"'Cate!"

"And Mr Roark's right, you should be with him. I don't think his Lucario really likes me," She added. "Besides, I'm no nurse – and neither is Pinky here, is she?"

Serena Joy crossed her arms, insulted. "College is a respectable position." She defended her occupation. "I'm going to be an author someday – and don't expect me to show you mercy once I'm rich and famous,"

"Ririri," Rodent chuckled from the sofa.

"Anyway, you and Mr Riley go way back, Miss Amy," Brown tried to be convincing, "I say its best you sleep with- I mean, spend the night with him. Ohcrapdidisaysleepwithhim…?"

"'Smooth'," Serene mimicked the young trainer's Jhotoain accent. "'Smooth like sandpaper.'"

She would probably have made fun of the goofy way the young girl waved her hands too, but both her arms were busy carting the dark-haired man's carcass to Roark's room. "Hhhheavy," She strained, unused to taking care of patients this big. Roark, on the other hand, seemed to be handling his load effortlessly. It must've been all the mining he did, she figured. She couldn't complain – straining his muscles did make him look deliciously buff.

By the time Serena crawled back to her room, her arms were aching – nothing made the distance from the living room to the bedroom feel longer than having to carry a man taller than her. She was about to settle down under her very, very comforting duvet when:

_"Uwahh... Today has been a tough day, hasn't it?"_

She stiffened. Right. Roark was sharing the bed with her now.

"Yeah… But I don't need your pity," She kept herself composed, straightening up – and pulling her back. "Ow, ow, ow, ow," She doubled over, for the first time all evening showing how tired she was.

"Okay," She admitted, "maybe I do – could you, I don't know, turn the nightlight on? It's quite dark,"

Gently lowering herself onto the bed, she stared up at the ceiling. She probably needed to change into her nightgown – but not right now. Should she ask Roark to turn away? Go outside? She didn't feel like being alone just yet.

How did Roark sleep? She wondered – sure, she'd seen him in the mornings, but watching him at night was out of the question. Did he have his own pajamas? Did he go 'commando' at night? Would he just sleep like he was now?

"Roark," She still looked ahead, at the ceiling, trying to take her mind off clothes. "Ever notice how much Riley reminds you of Sir Aaron? He even looks like all the illustrations of him from the fairy tales,"

Flinching, she propped herself up on her elbows, aware that they were discussing his best friend while they could be… uh… rollicking on her mattress? No, Serena, she pushed the thought out of her head. You're studying Roark, not dating him.

Talking about Riley was good. It was probably the least romantic thing they could be doing in a room together, and that lack of romance made her feel somewhat… comforted? Being too close to Roark gave her the chills, maybe because she wanted to look good in front of him, too obsessed with being perfect for him…

…Now, who was being unprofessional? She sighed.

"His Lucario even has the same nickname as the original Aaron." She recalled. "Laelaps…? Laelaps the hunting dog – he's in the Sinnoh-Unova myths." She turned to Roark.

"Stop me if I'm boring you," She chuckled, and then continued. "According to the myths, Laelaps the hunting dog had the power to hunt down everything he saw… but then, he met a Zoroark that could run away from everything he saw… You see the problem here, don't you?

"Long story short – Laelaps and the Zoroark chased each other for all eternity, neither of them able to run away or catch the other. It's a universal paradox, the same way a Rampardos is the unstoppable force and a Bastiodon is an unmovable object and if you put them both in a battle neither can win,"

She chuckled at her analogy – if anything, Roark knew all too well how hard it was to beat a Bastiodon with a Rampardos, what with his father's penchant for those bulky castle-like pokemon.

"I know this sounds… stupid..." She looked at his weary, handsomely rugged face. "But I think Riley's not just here for the Dance – I think he's trying to hunt down a Zoroark." She stopped talking, realising just how crazy she sounded. "Sorry. I guess I'm just worried about this Riley fellow… what Riley will do if he ever found out…"

Zoroarks were the last thing on his mind as Riley lay on Roark's bed. It smelled distinctively of sweat, he noticed, finally realising just how little miners bathed in the day.

A brush across his forehead.

"My poor dear..."

Amy. He opened his eyes a crack, hopefully too small for her to notice in the darkness of the room. No Riley, he told himself, go back to sleep, you need your rest. Amy can go one night without finding out how you were doing. She hasn't known you for years.

But he knew that wasn't true. Amy loved him, at least his vision had told him so… sort of? He wasn't sure. And he was curious to find out.

Darting his hand out, he snatched Amy's hand away from his hair. "I'm awake," He murmured, sounding a lot sleepier than he'd have liked.

"Amy, I-ah, ah," His voice caught as a small headache throbbed in his skull. He lay perfectly still until the pain subsided. "Ouch," he chuckled, straightening his face into the bravest expression he could muster.

"Amy… I… have to tell you something," He tried to look serious.

He looked away, relaxing his grip on the small woman's hand. His face turned to the mirror, suddenly realising that he looked a terrible mess; his hair was out of place, his clothes were crumpled, he looked like he hadn't slept properly in a long time. Messy seizures on the floor tended to do that to a person.

"I had a vision back there," He couldn't bear look at her – it was his job to look out for his lady, not the other way around. How could he be there for her if she was the one worrying about him? "I saw… I saw us, that day on Iron Island. I didn't even have to concentrate to see it… it just happened, just flooded right into my mind. I don't know why,"

"The only explanation I have is that your thoughts of that day were so strong… that I felt them without having to look," He turned to her, looking into those deep purple eyes that sparkled in the dim light of their room, "Amy, answer me truthfully – were you thinking about me during dinner?"

-x-x-x-

It was midnight when Brown heard the noise. A scuffling sound, irritating, small, and coming from the kitchen.

"Rrrodent?" She looked around the couch for her Raticate. "Rodent, this isn't funny – it's not our house, get back here."

Stumbling off the sofa, she wasn't sure if the other trainers were still awake and, frankly, didn't quite care.

"You better not be stealing from the fridge, you horrible little-"

"Audino!"

It was the ugly Chansey again – the one with the birth defect and oversized ears – an uncharacteristically angry expression on its face. Its tiny fingered hands were twitching, ready to claw at something, or at the very least slap it senseless. Brown gulped. Of all times for the Brown Effect to kick in, why now?

"Rodent!" She hissed, running out of the kitchen and back into the living room, "Tackle! Now!"

From under the couch, her Raticate scooted into view, ramming its body against the pink pokemon, who instantly toppled over and whimpered. Serena Joy was right, it was weak.

Thankfully the gym leader's collection of Geodudes and Gravellers were unfazed from the noise, stirring slightly before going back to sleep with their heads in their arms. She noticed an empty pokeball on the table and recalled the stunned normal-type before it could get up. Sure, Serena would kill her the next morning for hurting her mutant Chansey, but the Joy was already as angry with her as it was.

While the Audino was clearly under the influence of the Brown Effect, tame pokemon rarely fell for it without a very good reason. The Audino had clearly been protecting something, Brown thought, but what?

Rodent sniffed at the spot in the kitchen where the pink pokemon had been just minutes ago. "Raticate," he whispered, fishing out a notebook that sat on the table. Brown took it, flipping through the pages. The handwriting looked identical to that of every other Joy she'd met, but it was obvious enough that this notebook was Serena's.

"So she wants to be a famous author, does she?" Brown chuckled, slightly vindictive. Wanting to get even, she pried open the notebook.

"Let's see just how good her stories are."

A few pages in, Brown suddenly realized it wasn't a storybook - it seemed too orderly. A lab log. A very, very, very detailed lab log:

8th August – Day of full moon. Subject shows signs of itching before nightfall. Change in personality: subject is irritable, and quick to anger. Red hair seems somewhat longer than usual.

15th October – Full moon, 9pm. Oreburgh Mine. Subject uses mine as a hunting ground. Subject catches Zubat by scaling rock walls and jumping. Long claws leave marks on walls. Long fur and gripping claws suggest a mountainous lifestyle for the species. (That is, if the subject isn't the only one..)

7th January – Not full moon. Subject wakes up after (apparently having a vivid dream), abnormal hair growth along jawline, chest and arms. Hair recedes eventually. Small sharp teeth noticeable in mouth. Transformation may not be moon-based. (Possibly emotion-based – test this hypothesis!)

Subject? Transformation? Brown flipped through the notebook, confused. Small pictures of a blurry four-limbed pokemon were sketched in places, but no photographs. It didn't look like anything Brown had even seen.

Hastily, she pocketed the notebook in the inside of her jacket. She looked around, checking to see if anyone had seen her take it, before settling back to sleep. She'd ask the others about it in the morning.

If anyone could make sense of this, she smiled to herself. It was probably Amy.

**- J -**

"_Yeah… But I don't need your pity,"_

"Are you sure you aren't tired?" Roark asked, looking at the hot-pink-haired woman.

The miner couldn't help but smile when Serena complained about the pain in her back.

"So you ARE tired, uh?" Roark said, a soft smile on his face. "It's nothing to be ashamed of. Don't you see I'm always complaining about how tired I am? Haha!"

Without thinking, Roark took his shirt off, turned the nightlight on and lay down on the bed, comfortably sprawled.

He noticed that Serena was staring at him, but tried to make light of it. She finally lowered onto the bed, by his side, but Roark noticed that she kept having a look at him out of the corner of her eye, sometimes.

"_I wonder what's she's thinking about..._" Roark thought, staring at the ceiling. "_Maybe she wants me to turn away so she can change her clothes?_"

Roark tried to figure how would Serena look in her pajamas, or at least in a lighter outfit. He found himseld blushing at the idea, and he looked away so she couldn't notice. It was then when she asked a question.

"Umh, Riley? Sir Aaron?" Roark asked, turning to Serena. "Yeah... I think he's Riley's ancestor, I mean... they're the same! Only Sir Aaron had darker hair..."

Roark scratched his chin, looking at the ceiling, trying to think.

"Mmh, it's been like... 800 years? since then..." He said. "We can't be sure if they're related, but I'm sure they ARE!"

The ginger was also surprised at the fact that Serena suddenly wanted to talk about his friend. Well, he wouldn't have expected a different thing from her... or would him? No, he HAD to stop thinking about that...

Or maybe she liked Riley? Roark bit his lip as he found himself upset about that idea.

"Oh, no, please keep telling!" Roark said, looking at Serena. "You don't bore me at all! On the contrary! All these stories you always tell are very interesting!"

Roark listened to Serena's story attentively. The comparison between Lucario and Zoroark's rivalry and Bastiodon and Rampardos' rivalry made such a huge ammount of sense!

How couldn't he have thought of that, having a Rampardos himself?

"Interesting." Roark said. "A neverending fight..."

The miner stayed quiet for a few minutes, thinking about what Serena just said.

"I don't know..." He finally muttered. "If he's really here to hunt 'Zoroark' down..."

Roark found himself in a tight spot. Riley was his closest friend, he had even taken care of him when his father, Byron, had been outside... What if he found the truth?

"I guess I'll have to be very careful these days." Roark said. "If the full moon days pass on and I don't let people see me, he'll think nothing has happened, so I guess he'll forgot about the issue..."

He couldn't help but think that he was underestimating Riley. Riley always took his work very seriously. If he wanted to hunt Zoroark down, he would definitely do it. Roark was, definitely, in a fix. Roark took Serena's hand in his own and looked at her, firmly.

"Thanks goodness I have you..." He said. "Please, promise me... you'll always be here to help me. I don't know what might happen now..."

-x-x-x-

Amethyst kept brushing Riley's hair in the darkess, blinded by his beauty. She didn't mind his tired face or his messy hair. She loved him no matter what, and it was a verity that she could never forget.

"Oh, Riley..." She whispered, believing he was asleep; she gently caressed his cheek with her soft, small hand. "If only I..."

The purple-eyed woman shut up and flinched as Riley suddenly grabbed her hand. Was he awake? Had he hear all she had say?

"Ri-Riley...!" She exclaimed, blushing hard; thanks goodness it was too dark to notice.

Amethyst's expression changed from embarrassment to worry in a few seconds.

"Are y-you okay...?" She asked, holding Riley in her arms. "You're too tired, please, don't push yourself too hard..."

The young lady listened to Riley's story, slightly susprised at the fact that Riley barely looked directly at her. She frowned when she heard about that fateful day, when she left Iron Island along with her brother and a friend.

"Oh, _that _day." Amethyst said, kind of contemptuously.

She had barely started to regret her contemptuous tone when Riley told her the last part of his narration.

"Riley." The woman said, very serious. "How many times do I have to tell not to read my mind? Really! You did it a lot back when we stayed at Iron Island and I already told you I hate that!"

Although she didn't get out of the bed, Amethyst pulled herself away from Riley.

"Really. Stop it." She sentenced. "And what if I was thinking about it, or about you? Does that change anything, anyhow?"

"I-I do not want to continue this conversation." Amethyst muttered, gritting her teeth. "I know you... you'll end up hurting me, and I... don't want that. Good night."

Amethyst lay down on the bed, turning her back on Riley, her eyes filled with tears. She didn't know if Riley was still looking at her or if he had already started to hate her. She started to cry as silently as possible...

"_I'm sorry._" She thought, regretting all she had said. "_I'm sorry..._"


	7. CHAPTER 007: Riley's motives!

- N - = Nicky's part

- J - = my part

**Chapter 007 - Riley's motives!**

**- N -**

There was something marvellous about Roark shirtless, especially since he'd never taken off his clothes in front of her before. There wasn't anything on him that she didn't already know – pectoralis major, abdominal muscles, the works. Still, she couldn't help herself from admiring his figure – mining had done wonders for his abs, she realised.

Serena paused, watching Roark's expression cloud over. He was chewing his lip, looking anxiously up at the ceiling. What was he thinking about? Was he doubting Riley now? Or was he starting to hate her for suggesting his friend was a villain?

_"If the full moon days pass on and I don't let people see me, he'll think nothing has happened, so I guess he'll forgot about the issue..."_

"That sounds like a plan," She agreed. "We could try to convince him it was just a Luxio or something,"

Even as he faced her, she noticed, Roark's expression seemed troubled.

"I'm such a jerk," She sighed. "I know Riley's close to you, and… and that he's a friend and all… and I shouldn't be trying to come between you lot and-"

She stopped, suddenly aware of her hand in Roark's. In the dim nightlight, she hoped no one could tell she was blushing.

"Oh," She gasped, glancing down at his hand grasping hers, "Roark, I…"

Unable to help herself, Serena rested her head above his collarbone, just under his chin. She closed her eyes, breathed, feeling his heart thud, the way he smelled. Heaven. Her lip was trembling, her shoulders shook – this was all too sudden, too emotional, too… too… too something.

She'd spent all her life pushing people away from her – love was never her stronghold – but all she wanted to do was to hold him close to her. She wanted to pull him against her, to feel his warmth against her side, to feel like he would never let her go either.

"W-wr-wRoark, you're an idiot. I'll a-aw-always be here for you," She stammered, her head still on his clavicle, trying not to cry. "We'll work this out, you'll see,"

Finally noticing she'd dripped tears onto his chest, she pulled herself upright, wiping her face with the back of her hands. "Sorry," She snivelled, her face bright red as she tried not to look at him. "I don't usually do that – I'd better go get changed."

Leaving the bed, she looked at the man tenderly. When did she start loving him? When did it finally dawn on her that all she ever wanted was this man, holding her in his arms, rocking back in forth, promising her they'd be together forever... All she needed was him and his stupid fossils to make her feel happy.

Was she staring at him? Oh, gosh, she was! Hastily, she grabbed her usual chemise from the dresser and darted out to the bathroom to change.

Outside, the teenaged girl was asleep on the couch, snoring in time with her Raticate. Serena tiptoed back to her room, hoping not to wake her.

"Issat silk?" Brown's voice murmured. So much for not waking her.

"None of your business," Serena said curtly.

"Kind of skimpy, don't you think, Pinky?" The girl inclined her head to look at Serena in her tiny nightgown. "My mom used to wear something like that to sleep too. Then again, she was a size 22…" The girl visibly shuddered. "Ugh."

Serena noticed the girl was sleeping in the same clothes she'd worn for dinner. Didn't those stupid kids ever change? Did they wear the same ugly outfit all day? For days?

"Case in point – I like it." Brown yawned dreamily as she went back to sleep. "Bet he'll like it too…"

"Who?" Serena's voice rose, but the girl was already half asleep. Pensively, she went back to the room, vaguely aware her outfit might've been too revealing for company.

"Sorry I took so long." She pulled the bottom of the tiny nightgown, trying to make it seem longer. "That kid is a nuisance." She gave Brown one last annoyed glance before shutting the door, wondering if Roark had overheard their conversation from the room.

**-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-**

"Amethyst, I…"

It wasn't like he'd wanted to read her mind. He opened his mouth to protest, but decided it just wasn't worth it.

"I wasn't trying to read your mind," He whispered softly, perhaps even too soft to hear. "Aura… Aura is like radio waves, and I can pick them up like a radio antenna… but I have to concentrate to make it work. This time, I didn't even have to try, it just… came to me… I didn't mean to."

He looked at her, the curve of her back, her thick brown hair spread out on the pillows, a vision of petit perfection. Probably out of courtesy, she maintained a good distance between the both of them.

It felt cold in the bed. Riley shuddered despite himself.

Amy wanted him, hadn't she? She'd thought about it so hard and so strong her thoughts went straight to his head? Was he wrong? He began to doubt himself. Maybe it was time to move on, find someone else, stop worrying about the girl he'd refused all those years ago and finally, finally be free of those feelings he kept harbouring in his heart…

He looked around the room, trying to make sense of it all. His eyes moved from the small cabinet of fossils hanging on the wall, to the toy Cranidos he remembered giving Roark for his birthday, finally, His eyes fell on the photos hanging from the wall across the bed. Roark had been busy all these years – pictures of him fishing, sitting on a Ferris wheel, running on a beach – most of them featured the pink-haired Serena scowling by his side.

Riley eyes them enviously, it was obvious enough what the two of them had… why couldn't he and Amethyst be the same?

…Why did he want her so badly? Why couldn't he ever be free from wanting her hands around his waist, her gorgeous purple eyes looking into his?

He shivered again. It was pointless, the bed – or Amethyst for the matter – would never get warmer.

He staggered to his feet, holding onto the wall for balance as he made his way to Roark's desk. He turned to the young woman, her back still to him – was she still asleep? As he flicked on Roark's desk lamp, he wondered whether it would wake her.

Better make this quick.

Reaching into his jacket, he pulled out the book he'd been reading, shaking its contents onto the desk. Little clippings of newspapers began to fall out of The Brown Effect, all with the same conclusion:

BLACK BEAST SIGHTED NEAR OREBURGH.

He accompanied the clippings with his map, tiny red dots marked on it to indicate all the sightings: most of them in Oreburgh mine, some in the field just before Cycling Road. He had witness reports, theories, even blurry photographs, the works. But still, he hadn't seen it himself.

He rested his chin on his hands, tapping a pen against the desk.

"Where are you hiding…?" He whispered to the darkness.

He knew the myths – Zoroarks. Wily, cunning bloodthirsty beasts, fabled for their ability to change forms. It was the reason why no one had suspected a Zoroark in the area yet: they didn't know that it was hiding in plain sight… As another pokemon? As another neighbour?

Riley frowned, his pen-tapping growing more and more furious as he concentrated.

**- J -**

Roark smiled, amused. Definitely, Serena didn't know Riley at all.

"Convince him? Yeah, sure." He said. "He's not the easy guy who will believe everything."

Roark looked directly at Serena, slightly frowning.

"And don't forget he has the power of Aura." The miner added.

He smiled with sorrow when Serena apologized. Why was she being so sweet? Maybe nights changed her personality...

"It's okay..." Roark said. "Whatever happens, our friendship will be stronger than anything, I'm su-"

The ginger wasn't able to finish his sentence. Serena was resting on his collarbone, and she stayed like that for a while. Roark didn't understand anything...

Serena, a stubborn woman who liked to get offensive at almost everything was being... kind? Loving? She was acting more like... a woman? Or at least that's how Roark was starting to see her as.

"_Wh-what's happening to her?_" Roark thought, gulping. "_She's all warm all sudden..._"

He didn't know a lot about Serena; in fact, they only knew each other because she knew his secret, but Roark didn't know anything about her past, or such... Maybe she had a reason for being so stubborn. Maybe a past love? A... broken heart?

Serena's stuttering interrupted Roark's thoughts.

"I'm glad." He said, smiling. "I knew I could count on y-"

It was then when Serena stood up and turned her back on him for a few seconds. Roark noticed something strange on her. Was she crying? Nah, she was too strong for that.

"_Does she have a reason to cry anyway?_" Roark thought. "_Is she THAT worried about me?_"

He looked at Serena as she got out from the bed. It was all in darkness, but he could notice she was staring at him.

"_Okay._" Roark thought. "_I think she NOW wants me to turn back so she can change her clothes..._"

Or at least that's what she had told him. Roark couldn't help but start imagining (again) Serena in a tiny pajamas (he was a guy, he had a pervy side, after all), and blushed. Thanks goodness she couldn't notice. She would have kicked his ass!

"Oh, okay." Roark said, trying to hide his disappointment. "I'll be waiting here."

As soon as Serena left the room, Roark started thinking about which kind of pajamas she would wear. A nightdress? Maybe a top and shorts? Or something sexy?

Roark felt a bit guilty for thinking about such things. He was a serious guy, dammit! But then again, he worked so much he needed some fun once in a while...

Then, Serena came back. Roark flinched and opened his eyes totally at the vision.

"_Oh, God..._" He found himself thinking.

"Oh, it's okay." Roark said, trying to take his eyes off Serena's tiny nightwear. "That kid isn't asleep yet? Haha, she's so funny..."

He felt his blood warming up. No, Roark -he thought- she's just a friend who is helping you with your issues, nothing more, nothing less.

Oh well, but at least he would compliment her for her looks. Women liked that, after all.

"You look very gorgeous in those pajamas." Roark said, finally. "I must admit I'm surprised... You always wear dresses or long jeans, so I never can see your figure really...!"

Oh, God. Just what the fuck HAD he said?

"Er... I mean." Roark suttered. "Not that I was trying to see you in light clothes, it's just th-that... well, I'm surprised, that's all."

Roark scratched his head. Since when he felt so attracted to Serena? It wasn't only for her clothes, though. Maybe he had always liked her, he just didn't know it...

**-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-**

Amethyst was so angry that she didn't want to listen to Riley's excuses. Well, she actually wanted... No! She didn't want! She knew he would end up hurting her in any way...

However, she ended up listening to him. His voice simply enchanted her... His words made sense, as she would have expected from him.

"_Yeah... I know that..._" She thought, sad. "_I had forgotten it... Aura is like radio waves... I was too fast to judge him... I'm sorry, Riley..._"

Amethyst felt the urge to apologize. To turn back, hug him tight and tell him how sorry she was. But she was too proud and, anyway, Riley was the one who had to apologize first!

She might have been too fast to judge him, but he'd had her waiting for EIGHT years! Her mistake was so trivial compared to his...

The chestnut-head noticed that Riley was suddenly very quiet. Maybe he had got tired of apologizing? Well, at least that meant that he didn't hate her...

But wait! Shouldn't she be the one to hate him after all those years waiting for him? No, she loved him. She really did... And she wanted to shout to the world that she loved Riley and would do anything for him.

But, as always, Amethyst didn't do anything to show her feelings.

She started to feel sleepy. She felt Riley moving sometimes, but she didn't mind. She was so tired...

"_I'm sorry..._" She thought, again, as her eyes started to close.

While she closed her eyes, she couldn't help but feel a bit disgusted. She thought about Stephanie and Serena, and felt somewhat envious...

Stephanie was 16, the age Amethyst was when she met Riley. Amethyst was obsessed with him, she wanted him, his love... But Ms. Brown seemed so happy without a man. She simply didn't need it!

And Serena was a beautiful woman who really seemed to have a thing for Roark, and Amethyst was sure that it was mutual. Just like her and Riley, Serena and Roark were sharing bed, and maybe... maybe having some fun? Amethyst tried not to think about that, or her jealousy would get too huge for her to handle.

When she was almost asleep...

"_Where are you hiding…?"_

Amethyst was so sleepy that she thought Riley was asking her that.

"I'm not hiding." Amethyst muttered, sleepy. "I'm still here, silly..."

Then, she closed her eyes hard. How DUMB could she be? Riley was obviously talking to himself...

Amethyst stayed quiet, wondering if he had heard her. Just in case, she didn't make any noise, and maybe Riley could think she was talking in her dreams...

**- N -**

"That kid? Funny?" Serena laughed. "More like annoying – I think she put my Audino back into its ball, not that I blame her…"

Maybe she didn't seem as annoyed as she should have been, because Roark was awfully quiet. Then again, he cared a lot for all his pokemon, seeing someone recall them without his permission would have more than annoyed him.

"My Audino's a pain in the ass," She explained while brushing her hair. "My parents gave him to me – they thought it'd help me 'get in touch with my inner nurse' and all that bullcrap. I already had my Deerling at the time, so I really didn't need another stupid pokemon, but they made me keep it anyway. Really, I could've done without an Audino - Sawsbuck was awesome…"

Her voice was wistful as she remembered the old grass-type pokemon she'd grown up with. He really was the best Pokemon she'd ever known – strong, brave, independent… And dead. Realising she'd been talking about one of Roark's victims in front of him, she promptly changed the subject.

"Sorry," She stiffened. "That's my folks for you: they've been trying to get me back to nursing school since day one. I pay my own college fees because they can't be bothered to. It's just as well – I don't need their help, I don't need anybody's help… I can handle… fine… on my own…"

Her nose has started feeling blocked, and she realised she was on the verge of crying again. This was terrible! Why was she such a wimp tonight? What was it about Roark tonight that made her want to pour out her heart to him?

Still brushing her hair absentmindedly (which by now had gotten quite silky) she sat on the bed, just as Roark complimented her outfit.

_"You look very gorgeous in those pajamas." Roark said, finally. "I must admit I'm surprised... You always wear dresses or long jeans, so I never can see your figure really...!"_

She blushed bright red. Had he really liked the way she looked? She shifted on the mattress, slightly afraid. Maybe this was a bad idea, maybe they were getting too close for comfort…

As she moved, her leg brushed Roark's and she felt her face redden even further, a smile creeping onto her face. She was suddenly aware of just how little the tiny gown covered her legs but, oddly enough, didn't quite care.

Maybe… Maybe this was what she'd always wanted?

_"Er... I mean. Not that I was trying to see you in light clothes, it's just th-that... well, I'm surprised, that's all."_

You and me both, Serena thought as she put the brush back, surprised as how much she wanted to pull Roark close to her, to let him hold her, feel his fingers running through her hair, let him know that she needed him.

"T-thank you," She finally managed, feeling slightly raw to be so intimate with someone – she didn't need anyone, she'd told herself, why did she want him so badly?

Suddenly, she realised just how she'd been lying down on the bed – right next to him, her side brushing his. Her arm was against his stomach, feeling the muscles on his abs; her legs were intertwined with his.

Hastily she pulled herself away. "I'm sorry," She admitted. Dammit, why didn't she have any self-control anymore?

"You're not so bad yourself," She couldn't help herself as her eyes took in the gentle curves of his face, the way his red hair settled down on the back of his strong neck, the chiselled shape of his muscles…

"I mean, I've never seen you so… so stunning…" She bit her lip. "It's amazing,"

…Wait, what? What had she just said?

DAMMIT WOMAN! She thought, CONTROL YOURSELF!

**-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-**

_"I'm not hiding. I'm still here, silly..."_

Riley blinked. Had she… talked in her sleep? He couldn't remember whether it was a thing she used to do on Iron Island, then again, he'd forgotten a lot about her. Were they strangers now? Could they ever be together again?

Still, it made him pleased to know she was still talking to him, even subconsciously. He got up from his chair, leaning over the bed to see if she was really asleep. She seemed dreamy enough, her eyes closed, her breath coming out gently and steadily… She probably wasn't awake.

Chuckling he turned off the light, collecting his materials and putting them into the Brown Effect and back into his pocket – wait. One of the clipping was gone. He checked under the table, but found nothing. Maybe it'd slipped under the bed.

He'd get it in the morning.

Remembering where Roark kept his blankets, he made his way slowly to the cabinet and fished out a duvet. He made sure not to take out more than one – he didn't need a blanket himself. Leaning on the wall again, he limped back to the bed and laid himself down. Amethyst still had her back to him, her body rising and falling rhythmically with her breathing.

He spread the blanket out, letting it fall, gingerly, on her tiny body. Gently, he tucked her in comfortably, making sure she wasn't too cold.

Satisfied with his handiwork, Riley rested himself on the bed, closed his eyes, and waited for sleep to come back to him.


	8. CHAPTER 008: Brown's proposal!

- N - = Nicky's part

- J - = my part

**Chapter 008 - Brown's proposal!**

**- J -**

Roark smiled with sorrow as Serena talked about her pokémon. He couldn't help but feel horribly guilty because... well, it was all his fault, afer all. He tried to get distracted at the fac that she just wouldn't stop brushing her hair, but it was in vain...

"Serena, I..." Roark stuttered, looking down. "I'm so sorry, I... I can't believe that you don't hate me yet, to be honest."

He sifted in his side of the bed, uncomfortably.

"Well, at least I think your Audino is pretty nice." Roark added. "She's always willing to help... Oh, and you should tell our guests that she's an Audino, not a Chansey, hehe..."

Roark wasn't sure if he should keep that topic. Thanks goodness Serena changed the subject herself.

However, he was worried about the Joy as he noticed her voice sounding kind of sad. Roark felt the uncontrollable need to hug her and comfort her.

Instead, he complimented her outfit. So typical of a man...

But maybe it was a bad idea, as Serena shifted on the bed. Roark totally imagined her kicking his ass off in the blink of an eye...

"_I'm going to die..._"

But it didn't happen.

On the other hand, he found her lying next to him, rubbing his abs like in a daze... Not even Serena herself seemed to have noticed what she was doing. But he liked it that way. He hid his disappointment when she pulled herself away the best he could...

"_I mean, I've never seen you so… so stunning... It's amazing,"_

The miner blushed hard. He had never had a woman to compliment him for that, after all.

Roark was out of words, just... speechless. But he had to say something or Serena would think he was retarded! Or she could even think that he didn't want her, which wasn't true... Wait, what?

"Ah- ummh..." Roark muttered, tossing his red hair. "Well, thanks..."

"_Well, thanks_"? Was that the best he could say? Pitiful.

Well, maybe words weren't necessary in that moment. To be honest, what he really wanted was hug her, put his arms around her round body and kiss her as if there's no tomorrow, but...

Maybe it was too early. That was their first intimate moment, after all. And there were more cute things to do other than kissing and such...

Hence, Roark took gently Serena for her pointy chin and looked at her eyes directly, only a few centimeters between their noses...

"Thank you, Serena." Roark finally said, with a more convincing tone.

Then, he kissed her on her forehead. Not what he was willing, but it was definitely a way to start. He put his other arm around his shoulder and stayed lying like that.

"It's too late already, we better put ourselves to sleep now." He said, softly. "Tomorrow will be another busy day... Good night, Serena, sweet dreams..."

**-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-**

Amethyst stayed quiet. She was aware that Riley was directly looking at her.

"_Don't move._" She thought. "_Don't move..._"

Success! She noticed how Riley turned the lights off. A few sconds passed until she felt him again; he lowered himself onto the bed and... she felt how the blanket fell over her body.

He was still the same gentleman than before...

"Thank you..." Amethyst whispered; it was so imperceptible that it was impossible that he could have heard...

A few seconds later, she was already fast asleep.

**- N -**

"MORNING!"

Brown was already at the table, helping herself to breakfast, when Serena woke up and stumbled into the kitchen.

"!"

Serena rubbed her eyes, to make sure she wasn't imagining the young trainer darting about her kitchen. The kid was literally a blur, running from counter to counter, simultaneously frying a pan full of bacon, toasting two pieces of bread, and boiling several eggs. How the hell did she run so fast?

"Nicebathrooooooobe!" She zoomed past Serena, leaving a gust of wind behind her. Serena glanced down at her pink bathrobe – she'd draped it over herself when she'd woken up. She'd trust Roark with her body, but she wasn't about to let the whole world see that much of her skin.

"Raticate," The small brown rat rescued the toast from the toaster, refilled the machine, and dropped the dark brown slices onto a small mountain on the breakfast table. Orange juice, coasters, plates and forks had already been set out on the table.

"Iwasupsincefiiiive!" Brown rocketed another round past Serena, who finally snapped:

"HOW IN BLUE BLAZES ARE YOU RUNNING SO FAST?"

Brown screeched to a halt, a small trail of smoke coming out from her shoes. "Running-shoes," She pointed to her feet. "And coffee," She raised a pot of dark brown liquid that'd she'd been drinking from. Oh GOD, Serena thought, aghast. SHE'S DRINKING COFFEE STRAIGHT FROM THE POT.

The horror.

"Coffee is awesome," Brown beamed, taking another big gulp from the pot, before proceeding to bounce on the spot. "!"

"Well, stop that," Serena crossed her arms. "It's freaking me out!"

"Sorry," the teen stopped moving, "I just wanted to help,"

"The last time I read a dictionary, 'Helping' didn't involve stealing my food and using my utilities without permission."

"Sorry, it won't happen a-GAH! THE BACON!"

The bacon was smoking. Hastily, both women ran to the stove and proceeded to evacuate the meat from the frying pan.

"Cate! Rati!" Rodent scolded his trainer, as if to say 'I told you so!'.

From the window came the sounds of the mine rumbling to life. The salt and pepper shakers on the table began to hop with all the noise – if that didn't wake the whole house, nothing would. Serena would have to work fast if she wanted to cook for the entire house.

But maybe she didn't have to do it alone.

"We won't get anything done at this rate." She sighed, before turning to Brown. "Pass me more bacon,"

The girl stood still for a moment, before realising that her help was required. "You mean…?"

"Pass me the bacon before I do it myself," Serene grunted. "Do you want to be helpful or not?"

"Awesome!" Brown beamed, before darting to the fridge and rushing back in a split-second. Serena flinched – those running-shoes were fast!

"How about you wake Amethyst up, while you're at it?" Serena suggested, watching a carton of milk bounce across the table. "That is, if the stupid mine hasn't already."

"Sure!" Before Brown finished the word, she was already out of the kitchen.

To say Roark liked fossils would be an understatement. A grave, grave understatement. Stephanie looked at the fossils hanging from the walls, placed in cabinets, sitting on the table… Roark's room probably had more fossils in it than the average museum.

"Sweet," She whistled in awe, before noticing Riley and Amy on the bed. The man had shifted in his sleep, one arm draped lazily over the brown-haired woman's waist. Stephanie wondered whether Amy had noticed.

"Amy?" She shook the woman's shoulder. "Amy, you awake?"

**- J -**

Roark was already awake. In fact, he was getting dressed in Serena's room. The screams and noises from the kitchen caught his attention.

"Haha, Stephanie was already awake and they're already arguing?" Roark said, a small smile on his face. "Too bad I have to go to work, I'll hate to miss the show, haha."

Even the smell of the smoke got into the room. No, he thought, not the breakfast, please.

Roark put his trousers on (although they reminded undone, as usual) fastly and got out from the room.

"_Please,_" He thought. "_please tell me they didn't ruin the bacon..._"

As he got out from the room, Roark crashed into someone.

"Hey!"

As he expected, it was Stephanie, who seemed to want to go to his room, where Amethyst and Riley were.

"Steph!" Roark exclaimed. "Please, watch your step!"

It was then when he noticed the blondie was going to his room. Roark smiled.

"Don't be too noisy, you could awake them..." Roark told her, winking.

Roark then went into the kitchen, where Serena was managing to deal with all the breakfast.

"How's the bacon?" Roark asked, worried. "Ah! I see it's not as smoked as I believed. I'm glad!"

Now that he thought of it, they hadn't talk since the "sweet dreams" he had told her last night. Maybe now she had realized what she had done and regretted it? It would have been a pity, Roark thought...

The miner approached Serena, shyly.

"All that looks delicious!" He exclaimed. "What? Stephanie also intervened? Haha, so cute! Her manners might not be the best, but she has good intentions."

With a more serious expression, Roark looked at Serena.

"So, how did you sleep?" He asked her. "By the way, can I help you with that?"

**-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-**

With a grumble, Amethyst woke up amongst several shakes.

"_Amy? Amy, you awake?"_

It had to be Stephanie, of course.

"Uh... eh..." Amethyst couldn't even talk. "Ms. Br-Brown... Umh, yeah... NOW I'm awake..."

As she stretched, the purple-eyed girl noticed something light on her waist. Still sleepy, Amethyst looked back and saw it was Riley, who was still asleep, apparently.

"Oh...!" She exclaimed, opening her eyes wide and blushing.

She wasn't sleepy anymore. Amethyst covered her mouth with her own hand. She didn't want to wake Riley up that way. That's it, if Stephanie hadn't woken him up yet.

"Shush." Amethyst said, so Stephanie would stop shouting.

Softly, the chestnut-head let go off Riley's arm and looked at him, in a daze. He was so peaceful, so attractive... His dark blue hair scattered over the sheets, his firm mouth half-open... Oh, how badly she wanted to kiss those lips.

Amethyst then remembered that the young girl was still by her side and tried to remain her compossure.

"Good morning, Ms. Brown." The woman said, politely. "I see you're as hyper as usually, hehe."

She patted Rodent's head happily. It was nice to see them again, no matter how loud they were.

"So, breakfast is almost ready?" Amethyst asked. "Then it'd be better to wake Riley up..."

Amethyst lightly lowered herself above Riley, still keeping the distance.

"Riley..." She whispered. "Breakfast is ready... Are you awake...?"

**- N -**

Serena tried to keep her smile to herself as she heard Roark in the kitchen. As usual, he was a mess – the same, comforting mess she knew and loved. She took a moment to admire the way his hair stuck out awkwardly.

"That," She pointed to the pan of bacon she was frying, "is for your Rampardos." She looked at him apologetically. "Sorry. I didn't think you'd get up so early...

"Also: don't drink the coffee. It's got germs in it... The blonde, hyperactive, teenage variety."

Speak of the devil, Roark noticed Brown's handiwork about the kitchen.

_"All that looks delicious! What? Stephanie also intervened? Haha, so cute! Her manners might not be the best, but she has good intentions."_

Serena shrugged. "Maybe. Still doesn't stop her from being a pain up my ass, though."

From the corner of her eye, she noticed a pokeball rattle and explode in a flash of glowing light. Finally free from the ball, her Audino staggered drunkenly about the kitchen, before realising just how long it had been unconscious.

"Dino?"

"Speaking on pains up my ass…" Serena muttered, before adding snidely: "Slept well, Rip Van Winkle?"

"Audino," The large pink pokemon looked thoroughly insulted. "Audio, dino do!"

"Okay, okay!" She laughed, "Just go help me make some more toast. You can tell me what happened last night after breakfast."

Still somewhat miffed, the normal-type gave an annoyed 'hmph' and waddled to the toaster to finish the job Rodent was doing before. Serena wondered what had happened the night before, but didn't give too much thought into it – not when Roark was talking about last night.

Oh, gosh! Last night! His kiss still lingered on her forehead, it sent tingles down her spine as she recalled the gentle way he held her chin, the feel of his lips on her bare skin… ARCEUS! How close they'd been last night…!

She smiled, despite herself. No, Serena, snap out of it! She thought. This isn't right! It's unprofessional! Imagine what everyone would think!

"I don't need help." She answered, sounding ruder than she felt. Instantly, she regretted ever saying it – she did need him. She needed his arms around her, his warm breath on her neck, needed his arms around her waist…

"I-I mean…" She trailed off, thinking of ways she could salvage the situation. "You need to keep your strength to prepare for the Dance and everything… Right! The Dance! Uhhhhh…. Have the decorations already been set up?"

No amount of smiling could disguise the awkwardness on her face.

**-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-**

_"Riley... Breakfast is ready... Are you awake...?"_

Riley stirred, groaned, and then covered his face with a pillow.

"Goway," He mumbled, before recognising the voice. "…Amethyst?"

Amethyst? Here? By his side? Waking him up in the morning? But… how?

The day before came back to him in a blur – finding Serena Joy in the pokemon center, meeting Amethyst, seeing the vision… ugh. It had been way too eventful for his tastes. His face still under the pillow, Riley gave a tiny groan.

"Go… do… whatever it is you usually do in the morning first," He suggested, not willing to let Amethyst see just how tired and pathetic his morning face was. "I'll join you… eventually,"

"We better do what he says," Brown chuckled, leading the purple-eyed woman away. "Gold always was a cranky asshole in the morning – by extension, most men are."

She waited until she was out of earshot from the male trainer on the bed before whispering to Amy: "And, actually, Amy, I needed to ask you something…

"Remember when I told you Rodent and I want to challenge the Oreburgh Gym? Well, we've been thinking and – really, you don't have to if you don't want to, since, I mean, we're tough and awesome and-"

"Raticate!" Rodent snapped, wanting his trainer to get to the point.

"Right! I mean, we wanted to know if you could help us train." Brown smiled. "We could have a battle and everything and then go out of waffles – pleasesayyes?"

**- J -**

"Ah" Thank you very much!" Roark exclaimed, looking at the plate with delicious food for his pokémon. "Go, Rampardos!"

Roark sent Rampardos out and put the plate on the floor. The pokémon automatically started eating hungrily. His trainer smiled, amused.

"Pardos!" Rampardos said. "Rampard!"

"Hahaha." Roark laughed. "I think he likes it! Well, no wonder. Your food is always so delicious..."

"Well, your screams woke me up, basically." Roark said, looking at Serena, amused. "But don't worry, it was a nice way to get up."

The miner was about to take a cup of coffee when the Joy warned him. Roark couldn't help but laugh, amused.

"Hahahaha! You two will never get along, will you?"

Roark took a few sips of coffee while his hungry Rampardos devoured his breakfast until he finished it. Roark patted Rampardo's hard face friendly.

Theur relationship were so different from Serena and Audino's...

"Aww, poor thing." Roark said. "Don't you think you should be nicer to Audino? Instead of seeing her as a "family habit", try to see her as a sweet pokémon that is always willing to help you."

Would those words mean anything to Serena? She was a combatant woman who wasn't very fond about showing her feelings, after all.

"I'd tell my pokémon to help Audino, but you know..." Roark said, smiling with sorrow. "My pokémon are mostly a mess, just like me, hehe!"

The ginger looked at the Joy, like waiting for something. She seemed to flinch when he asked how did had she slept. Maybe what he was fearing would come true? She'd act as if nothing had happened?

"Oh, okay..." Roark said, somewhat disappointed.

He took a toast and put it into his mouth as he grabbed his jacket and zipped his pants.

"Umh, then I'll leave n-" He started to say.

But Serena seemed to regret her words. He finished the toast and took another one, smiling at Serena.

"Oh! I'm glad you're so excited about the Dance!" He said. "Everything's going fine. But I have still to find a partner."

Roark thought about winking at Serena, but that would have been too... blatant? Instead, he looked down, a slight smile on his face.

"Well, now I must go to work." He said. "The breakfast was delicious, Serena. See you tonight."

He gave her a last smile before getting out from the house. But what Roark really wanted was to hug her and kiss her...

**-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-**

"Uuh?" Amethyst asked.

The young lady was surprised at Riley's lazy awakening. He always got up earlier than her and Emerald at Iron Island, so she didn't know about that.

"Awww." The chestnut-head complained, desappointed. "B-but...!"

She couldn't say more. Stephanie grabbed her arm and pushed her away.

"Wh-what, Ms. Brown?" Amethyst asked, surprised. "What's this important thing you want to ask?"

She listened to the teenager's words, and couldn't help but laugh when Rodent intervened.

"Oh, my!" Amethyst exclaimed. "You took me away just to ask me for help to train?"

The woman poked the young girl's forehead.

"And you really, really think that Riley can't hear us?" She added. "He eventually can if he wants, haha!"

However, Amethyst put her hand on her chest and sighed, relieved.

"_Thanks goodness she didn't ask me if I did 'things' with Riley last night..._" She thought.

Amethyst looked again at Stephanie.

"Well, of course I can train you, Ms. Brown." She said, crossing her arms. "I'm not one who likes to fight, but I guess I'll be able to teach you something useful after all these years..."

The idea of having an apprentice sounded so weird to her.


	9. CHAPTER 009: In the tight spot!

- N - = Nicky's part

- J - = my part

**Chapter 009 - In the tight spot!**

**- N -**

Riley waited until they were far away enough before swiftly getting out of bed and checking under it. The slipping wasn't under there. Quickly, he searched under the table, the chairs, and every last cabinet.

Where could it be? He wondered, perplexed.

It was clear enough Serena was hiding something about the Zoroark – the last thing he wanted to do was for her to find it and get suspicious.

"Laelaps, I choose you," he whispered, pointing his pokeball out of the window.

A flash of bright light leapt out the window, solidifying into the Lucario on the ground floor below the apartment.

"Laelaps," He whispered to his pokemon, "today I need you to keep watch near the Oreburgh Mine – I know, I know! You already checked it yesterday, but do it again. I'm sure something's there. Report back if you find anything."

Barking in agreement, the Lucario took off, and disappeared into the city.

**-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-**

Stephanie tried to contain her enthusiasm – Amy was an incredibly powerful trainer, maybe even stronger than Gold, or maybe even Ruby, and she'd already seen how strong they were! It'd be amazing to finally have a dexholder to show her what to do.

"This is gonna be epic," She finally cheered. "A real, strong dexholder! And she's going to teach us how to battle!" Titling her head up, she looked her Raticate in the eyes. "Isn't this exciting?"

"Cate!" Rodent agreed, smiling. "Raticate!"

"Thank you so much, Amy," Brown turned to the purple-eyed trainer. "We really could use some help. Rodent's usually faster than his opponent so we always hit first, and we're good at dodging, but if we get hit…"

"Raticate," Rodent shuddered, recalling how easily Byron had beat them the last time. Bronzongs were slow, but he took a lot of damage whenever they hit him.

"Defense,"

Brown turned around, resting a shoulder on the doorframe was Riley, his hat fixed back on his head, his suit clean, and looking dapper. How did he go from being so tired to looking so good so quickly? Brown wondered.

Looking sharp as usual, the man smiled, and repeated himself.

"Your Raticate has a naturally high Speed stat, and he's agile enough to dodge his opponents – that's called Evasion. So, you're good at Speed and Evasion, but you can't take a hit?" He explained. "If anything, you need to bulk up Rodent's Defense stat."

Turning to Amethyst, he attempted to explain a little better: "Remember Diamond, on Iron Island?" He said, hoping Iron Island wouldn't still be a sore wound to Amethyst's heart. "He faced a problem like yours, Miss Brown – but his Pokemon had an incredible base Defense stat but were lacking in Speed."

As they walked down the hallway to the kitchen, Riley continued:

"Count yourself lucky that Amethyst has an excellent defensive pokemon," He added. "A Togekiss, am I right? Rodent could learn a thing or two from sparring against a defensive pokemon – especially since Roark's own pokemon specialise in Attack."

"Raticate…" Rodent thought about it pensively, sounding afraid.

"Don't be such a baby, Rodent!" Brown picked him off her shoulders and stared at him in her arms. "You can do this!"

"Ticate…"

"Oh come on, you're a tough guy," She put her nose against his. "You're my widdle tough guy, arenchoo?"

"Audino!"

Serena Joy crossed her arms, the large pink Pokemon by her side. "I've got breakfast ready," She pointed to the table, which was piled high with bacon and eggs and toast in various shades of doneness.

"Ooooh," Brown and her Raticate cooed in unison, before dashing to the table and helping themselves liberally to the food.

Serena looked at her Audino, thinking about what Roark had said. Maybe it was time to move on – was she pushing all her hatred of her family to the pink pokemon? It hadn't done anything to actually deserve her coldness… Still, it would never replace her Sawsbuck. Was she blaming it for trying to do that too?

As Amy and Riley entered the kitchen, she waved them a vague ''G'morning,".

"Roark's already left," She added, just in case they were curious. "Which reminds me! I have to give you these,"

She handed them a strip of paper each, hesitating before giving a third to Brown. "Tickets," She explained, "for the Dance. Technically, you don't need them, since it's open to the public, but this is for the couples who're doing the First Dance. Just bring a partner."

Quietly, she thought about Roark, wondering whether he'd ever ask her directly about the dance. He didn't have a partner, did he? Maybe it was time she asked him herself…

"What are you doing?" She arched her brow, staring at the younger trainer who had started unwrapping a bandage on her arm. She hadn't noticed the injury before – but then again, the girl wore plenty of layers of clothing – the bandage had been covered by her sleeve.

"I'm changing my bandages," Brown answered, peeling the wrapping off further. "I got hurt by a Purugly a while back,"

The wound was bright red, and bleeding slightly. Serena winced – that definitely looked like it hurt. However, the girl was unmoved at the size of it, as if this was something she encountered on a regular basis.

That girl had guts at the very least. It turned Serena's own stomach to see so much blood.

"Don't-Don't do that at the breakfast table!" Serena said, feeling sick from all the blood. "People are eating here!"

"But I got another one under my shirt too and I can't reach it by myself and-"

"No buts," Serena said sternly, before turning to the other two at the table. Riley was unmoved at the display, as if he'd seen much worse in his life. Was she the only at the table afraid of blood? "You… you can't just… do that in the middle of nowhere,"

Her stomach felt twisted. She could never stand the sight of people getting hurt – maybe that was why she never wanted to be a nurse. She had no idea how her cousins could handle their patients coming to them with so many cuts and bruises, and pus, oh Arceus, the pus!

Ugh.

"Here," Shuddering, she pulled a bottle of ethanol from the cabinet above the sink. "You better go somewhere to get that thing dressed."

The girl looked at the medicine as if she'd never used it in her life. Curiously, she opened the cap, sniffed it, and opened her mouth…

"Don't drink it, dammit! It goes on the wound!"

"Oh."

Serena planted a palm against her face. "Amy, could you help her?" her voice was tiny and scared. "You can use my room – just… just… do something."

**- J -**

Seeing Stephanie so enthusiastic about Amethyst training her was something that filled the woman's heart with joy. She had never done anything very useful, so she felt really important when the teen asked her for help.

However, she looked too enthusiastic.

"_I hope she isn't expecting something amazing from me..._" Amethyst thought. "_I'm not 'that' much of a strong trainer..._"

The purple-eyed trainer frowned when she listened to Ms. Brown's problems. Yeah -she thought- a normal Raticate wouldn't have had a very high defense.

"Mmmh," Amethyst muttered, rubbing her chin. "let me think, I guess t-"

She couldn't finish her sentence because Riley appeared. The chestnut-head stared at the man, her mouth slightly opened, as it happened everytime she got caught in his beauty.

His face looked brilliant again, his eyes were as vivid and beautiful as always... His firm, yet warm smile... And that blue, dapper suit that made him look so elegant, so... sexy...

"_Oh, my Arceus..._" Amethyst thought, almost drooling. "_I just can't believe I've been sleeping near this man all night long..._ Sigh..."

She wasn't listening to Riley's explanations, of course.

Hence, she flinched when he talked to her.

"Oh! Mmh, yeah, Diamond." Amethyst said, hastily; she played with one of her curls around her finger, nervously. "He took 'course B', so I guess Ms. Brown would have to take 'course A', hehe."

As they went to the kitchen, she listened to Riley's words, and remembered how her Togekiss, Toge, almost defeated his Lucario. Laelaps had been wanting to battle Toge because he had noticed his strong defense.

Of course, Toge wasn't still a match for Laelaps.

"Well... yeah..." Amethyst muttered, blushing. "I guess Toge is my most defensive pokémon..."

The woman smiled when Stephanie petted Rodent. They were so cute together! She couldn't understand why Serena couldn't see it...

And there it was Serena, along with her... strange pokémon.

"Good morning, Serena... Oh, my!" Amethyst excaimed happily, clapping. "It's been SO long since I don't have a proper breakfast like this!"

Contrasting with Ms. Brown's suddenness, Amethyst slowly sat down next to the blondie.

"Enjoy your m-!" Amethyst was saying before starting to eat.

But Serena interrupted her as she gave her the Dance ticket. Amethyst looked at the ticket and covered her mouth with her hand.

"Oh, Arceus!" She exclaimed, opening her eyes totally. "The Dance's tomorrow...!"

Amethyst started to blush uncontrollably, and she didn't know where to look at, nervous.

"B-but how am I-I suppossed t-to find a p-p-partner in such a small amount of time?" She asked.

When she was saying that, Stephanie was unwrapping her arm. Of course, nobody wasn't listening to her... or that's what it seemed.

However, Ms. Brown's wound was enough to catch Amethyst's attention.

"Oh, my! How can you move your arm with 'that' injury?"

Amethyst didn't know what was more surprising, Stephanie's wound or Serena's fear of blood. She was a Joy, after all... Then again, she wasn't a nurse.

Unlike Serena, the purple-eyed woman didn't seem to mind that Ms. Brown was displaying her injury while they had breakfast...

...and she couldn't help but laugh when the blondie was about to drink of the medicine.

"Pffft-" A small snort came out from Amethyst's mouth.

As the Joy facepalmed, Amethyst got up and grabbed Stephanie's (not injured) arm.

"Let's go, Ms. Brown." She said, as she pulled the teen away from the table.

She took her to Serena's room.

"Sit down on the bed." Amethyst said while she opened the bottle and poured the liquid on a gauze. "This might hurt a bit... But I can help it! Go, Dew!"

Amethyst sent her Roserade out.

"Dew, use aromatherapy on Ms. Brown's wound so it won't hurt that much when I heal it." The woman ordered.

When Roserade was done, Amethyst approached Stephanie and used the medicine on her wound.

"Well done, Dew." She said. "There, there, Ms. Brown... Okay! Now, time to put on a new bandage!"

As Amethyst put the bands around Stephanie's arm, she smiled softly and wistfully.

"When I was 9-13, I used to get hurt a lot, too." She said. "I lived a lot at the streets and even when some family welcomed me in their houses, I wouldn't stop getting hurt because I was too clumsy to travel that much."

The young woman closed her eyes, remembering those times.

"Now, I'm still clumsy and weak, but at least I have my pokémon to help me, hehe!" Amethyst laughed. "Say, are you feeling better now, Ms. Brown?"

**- N -**

"It's just a scratch," Brown assured the older trainer. "Don't worry so much about it,"

Still, she allowed herself to be led out of the kitchen, Rodent on her heels.

"Rodent, go back in the kitchen," She muttered, smiling. "I'm going to be okay,"

The rat pokemon looked unconvinced, until Riley broke a piece of toast to catch his attention. Rodent's head snapped back to the dining table where Riley waved the toast in the air, tarried for a moment, before deciding to follow his stomach back to the kitchen.

"That's a good fellow," Riley patted the pokemon's head soothingly. "Let's give your girl some privacy, alright?"

Brown watched them both until they disappeared down the hallway.

Serena Joy may not have wanted to be a nurse, but she sure loved pink. Her room was probably, and without exaggeration, the girliest room in the world. Brown had never seen so much lace before in her life – it trimmed the curtains, the lampshade, heck, even the bedsheets! Roses were printed on the wallpaper, a vase on her dresser boasted freshly-cut flowers, and the air had a gentle smell of rosewater on it.

"It's so, so, so… frilly in here," Stephanie wrinkled her nose. "How does she LIVE?"

She'd barely realised she was dripping blood onto the bedsheets until Amy sat her down and pulled out her Roserade's pokeball. Brown winced automatically, half-afraid the Roserade would attack her. Thankfully, Dew seemed good natured enough to listen to her trainer, executing a perfect Aromatherapy move.

Stephanie sighed, that really was a lovely smell… If anything, it at least helped drown out the perfume in Serena's room, replacing it with another fragrance that somehow reminded her of Jhoto… of rolling in fresh grass in the summer, of playing in the stream by Gold's house as the spring flowers were in bloom…

…And just like that, it was over. Amy was wrapping a new bandage around her arm, tuttering and talking soothingly. For a moment, Stephanie thought she saw a look of self-loathing in the woman, a feeling she herself knew all too well.

_"When I was 9-13, I used to get hurt a lot, too. I lived a lot at the streets and even when some family welcomed me in their houses, I wouldn't stop getting hurt because I was too clumsy to travel that much."_

Stephanie arched a brow.

"Where were your parents?" She asked quietly. The mortality rate of dexholder parents was unnaturally high, she'd begun to realise – Gold and Kris only had a mother, Silver and Blue had lost both of theirs, Red never had any to begin with (purportedly, he grew up raised by wolves, but that was hearsay, Crystal assured her) .

And Emerald. Emerald never talked about his family either…

_"Now, I'm still clumsy and weak, but at least I have my pokémon to help me, hehe! Say, are you feeling better now, Ms. Brown?"_

"Don't say that, Miss Amy," Brown retorted, "You're as good as any dexholder I ever met, and that's strong as far as I can tell. So, maybe, maybe, maybe… maybe you're not the strongest dexholder, but you're definitely not the weakest."

It took her a while to remember that she'd been asked a question. Tentatively, she flexed her arm to check. The new bandages felt clean and stiff.

"I'm good," She finally answered. "…You're good at this, Miss Amy,"

Something crinkled under her shoe as she flexed. Curious, she bent her knee and brought her sole to her face – a little slip of paper had stuck to the bottom of her running-shoes. Strange, she thought, how did this get here?

Carefully, she peeled the slip free from her foot.

"Look at that… someone's pokemon was eaten outside Oreburgh Mine." She handed the slip to Amy, pointing to the photograph of the Sawsbuck carcass. "Ever seen a pokemon like that? They say you can only find them in Unova,"

The article went on to explain how the bite marks were too narrow to be a Luxio's, or even a Shinx's. The Sawsbuck's trainer was never mentioned. Brown scratched her head, puzzled.

"Who'd leave a newspaper clipping lying around the house?" She wondered. "It sounds like an awful morbid fascination, don't you think so, Amy?"

The memory of last night and the notebook hung in her mind. Was this pokemon a victim of Serena Joy's 'subject'? Her hands tightened around the lump in her jacket where the notebook was, wondering whether Amy would provide any answers if she asked.

**-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-**

"She asked where she'd get herself a date," Serena parroted, somewhat bemused, as she poured orange juice into her glass. "She doesn't have a date."

Amy didn't have a date. And all this time, Serena'd simply assumed the purple-eyed trainer would go with the sharp-suited gentleman that had dragged her to their apartment for dinner in the first place. All the signs were there – the awkward body language, the yearning glances, the hand gestures that gave so much away…

Had she been wrong? Serena wondered. Maybe Amethyst and Riley were just good friends. Maybe she was reading too far in to their relationship. Still, it made her wonder just how much of it was platonic…

"She asked where she'd get a date," She repeated again, to no one in particular. "A date…"

From the corner of her eye, she saw Riley stiffen. Sleeping against his chest, Brown's Raticate stirred, yawned, and smacked its lips drowsily.

"I don't see her having much trouble finding one," Riley admitted, stirring his coffee and trying not to disturb the sleeping rat. "There are plenty of dateless miners around," There was a note of wistfulness in his voice, as if he was giving away something he cherished. "And Amethyst's a reasonably attractive woman… She has admirable eyes, wouldn't you think so, Serena?"

"Mhm," Serena shrugged, and gulped the entire glass of juice down. She wiped her mouth. "Funny," She attempted to be conversational. "To think, my biggest worry is finding a dress I'm not going to trip over in time for the Dance."

She looked at the man, who was wearing what appeared to be yesterday's clothes. Didn't anyone change their clothes from last night? She wondered. Maybe trainers didn't even bathe. Maybe they were born with their clothes on them. No one could travel through the region and camp in the woods while wearing the same set of clothes for months.

No one.

"What are you wearing, anyway?" Serena asked. "For the Dance, I mean."

"Suit." Riley answered flatly. "Blue jacket, black shirt, fedora,"

"Seriously?" Serena was beginning to believe her theory.

"Hmm…Orange socks…?"

She smacked her face against her palm.

"I'm joking! You know I was joking, right?" Riley laughed. He skimmed through a pokegear, checking his schedule. "I'll see if I can get a fitting done by tonight. Maybe a black tux? No?" He smiled serenely. "Too formal?"

Serena imagined him in a tux – starched lapels, cravat and all. Even she had to admit that was a dashing combination.

"Really," She assured him, "anything goes. There's not much of a dress code… Come to think of it, I don't even know what Roark's wearing! I bet it's his work clothes," She crossed her arms.

"I could ask him for you," Riley suggested. "I'm taking Stephanie and Amethyst down to the mines to train later."

"Naw – focus on getting that rat presentable enough to fight Roark," She smiled. "The last thing I want to do before the Dance is to scrape little pieces of Raticate out from under his Rampardos' foot tonight."

Riley chuckled. "Regardless, I'm thinking of taking the girls to go find decent dresses afterwards. Care to join us?"

"Nope," Serena shook her head. "I've got a dress already… sort of. It's my mother's. I'm just going to alter it."

"Traditional," Riley nodded. "I can respect that,"

"Traditional my ass," Serena sighed. She hated having to rely on her family. It just meant she'd forever be a Joy. "It's cheaper than buying one, that's all,"

"I admire your practicality,"

"Pfft."

There was silence between the two. Serena watched Brown's Raticate sleep, the rise and fall of his chest matching the breathing of the man he was sleeping on. Her Audino, she noticed, was sipping orange juice quietly, pretending not to exist.

"Another concern I'd probably note would be the full moon," Riley finally noted, looking off into a faraway place. "Do you believe in the myth of Zoroarks transforming in the full moon, Serena?"

Again with the Zoroarks. Serena felt the hair at the back of her neck prickle with fear.

"Not… Not really," She finally muttered. "Besides, the full moon isn't for another…" She reached for her notebook in its usual spot on the kitchen counter, only to grasp thin air. Dammit, where was her notebook?

"The full moon's tomorrow," Riley answered flatly. "If there really is a Zoroark about, I intend to find it at the Dance,"

Serena felt her throat go dry.


	10. CHAPTER 010: The mystery of the beast

- N - = Nicky's part

- J - = my part

**Chapter 010 - The mystery of the beast**

**- J -**

"Mmh, my parents are dead." Amethyst said, expressionless. "It happened when I was 9, and Emerald was 5. Neither of us really remember what happened, to be honest."

"Emerald was taken to an orphan in Hoenn wile I was taken to a relative's house, in Johto." The woman kept telling. "But I ran away because I wanted to be with my brother... But I truly had no idea where he could be, so I started wandering around..."

Amethyst sighed. For some strange reason, she wasn't sad. Since she didn't remember her parents pretty well, she simply couldn't be sad.

"After a few months wandering, I got to Kanto." She added. "I was almost 10, and there I met Red. Seeing the Kanto Dexholders gave me strenght to become a powerful trainer like them. That way, I could find my brother!"

"And so, it happened. A year right after becoming a Dexholder, I found him at the Battle Frontier. He had been wandering, too. No wonder we never managed to meet."

The purple-eyed woman smiled at Stephanie.

"But don't worry!" She exclaimed. "I've never been angsty about it, and the same goes to my brother, if you haven't noticed."

Amethyst winked and stood up.

"Thank you." She said. "In my opinion, being a Dexholder shouldn't be exclusively about battling, so even if I'm not the best battler, I always try to be helpful in some way."

The chestnut-head bowed. She wasn't usually that open to strangers, but Ms. Brown seemed to be a very trustworthy girl. Maybe because she reminded her of Emerald...

Suddenly, Stephanie found a slip of paper under the bottom of her shoe. Curiously, Amethyst took a look.

_"someone's pokemon was eaten outside Oreburgh Mine"_

Amethyst gasped, a hand on her chest.

"Oh, my-!" She screamed, horrified.

She covered her own mouth with her other hand. She didn't want the people in the kitchen to hear her.

The young woman trembled when Brown showed her the photography and put her eyes away hastily. It was too horrible for her...

She just kept listening at the teenager as she read the article.

"That's just... terrible." Amethyst stuttered, her eyes teary.

But, suddenly, everything made sense. An unknown pokémon... Didn't Serena have an unknown pokémon as well? And didn't she mention...?

"Wait a moment." Amethyst finally said. "Do you remember when... when Serena told us that one of her pokémon was eaten?"

Amethyst rubbed her chin, thoughtfully.

"She never mentioned her pokémon's name," Amethyst added. "but it could perfectly be one of these unknown pokémon from that Unova region. Why am I saying this? Because Serena's pink pokémon -or the 'ugly Chansey, as you call it- isn't really a Chansey, it's obviously a new pokémon."

Maybe she was making too much conclusions...? Nah, it couldn't be. Everything made sense!

"And this slip could belong to Serena." Amethyst said, pointing at the slip between Stephanie's hands. "And it would make sense why she's staying at Oreburgh! She's here to research and look for the pokémon who ate her pokémon."

Amethyst looked at Stephanie, firmly.

"I know this sounds crazy," She admitted. "but doesn't it make sense?"

The purple-eyed trainer started to walk in circles. There was something that was bugging her, though.

"But... didn't Riley mention something about a weird pokémon, too?" Amethyst said, still walking. "If so, that slip could belong to him as well... But why would he be so interested in this issue?"

"I mean, I know it's terrible and all, but the one who should be researching is Serena, not him... Aaaagh!"

Amethyst put her hands on her head and stopped walking. She was definitely making a mess of herself. Whose was the slip? Serena's? That would make perfect sense if the eaten pokémon was hers.

Riley's? Although the eaten pokémon wasn't his, he seemed the most interested in that issue.

If they asked Serena and the slip was Riley's, Riley could be in troubles. Otherwise, the results could be the same. These thoughts wouldn't stop appearing in Amethyst's mind. She finally sat down on the bed, near Stephanie.

"Why do I care so much, anyway?" She asked. "I feel sorry for the pokémon and its trainer, whether it's Serena or not, but it's not my business... And now my head hurts!"

A few minutes later, Amethyst stood up again.

"Mmh, shouldn't we go back to the kitchen?" She asked. "Our breakfast will get cold..."

She gave the slip a last glance.

"I don't know what are we going to do with that." Amethyst said, somewhat worried. "We'll keep an eye on Serena and Riley, let's see if one of them seems to miss something."

Ha, as if it was going to be SO easy to guess if Riley missed something!

And the same went for Serena... She would have felt incomfortable if Amethyst or Brown were keeping an eye on her the whole day. Moreover, she didn't seem to be the type who shows her emotions.

Amethyst's Roserade, Dew, looked at the corridor, more specifically at the kitchen's door, a worried expression on her face. As if she felt some bad vibrations coming out from there...

**- N -**

She should have seen that coming. For a moment, Stephanie wondered whether she'd hurt Amy's feelings. No one likes to talk about a death in the family. At least, no one she knew.

_"But don't worry! I've never been angsty about it, and the same goes to my brother, if you haven't noticed."_

Relieved, Brown breathed out a sigh. Amy was probably one of the most good-natured people she'd had the fortune to meet.

"Do you still talk to them?" She asked, "Your relatives, I mean." She hadn't seen her parents in years – and didn't particularly feel any pressing urge to either – but still, it felt good to get a letter from them from time to time.

Stephanie knew, deep down, she had to count her blessings. Her parents were bordering on criminally negligent, not to mention absent throughout most of her life, but at least she still had a family intact. Besides, she had Gold, who was practically her dad, and half the dexholders on hand to make sure she knew what she was doing.

She wondered how long Amy had had her dex – did Red give her one, or did she work for hers? What had Amy done, she wondered, to earn her her pokedex? Wrestle an Ursaring?

Stephanie hadn't done anything at all – Oak had simply given her a pokedex and expected her to live up to the legacy of every other dexholder before her. And those were some very big shoes to fill.

"You're right," She nodded. "Battling isn't everything… but it's the only thing I can think of to prove that I'm worthy to have a pokedex," She felt slightly downtrodden at this realisation. There wasn't another talent she had – unless she counted the Brown Effect as a talent. "I don't know what to do, really. There's nothing I'm actually really good at…"

Still, she had to be strong. Not just for herself, but for Rodent. He was counting on her. And Amy – now that's he had a teacher, she had to show her that she'd be a great pupil.

As she read the clipping out loud, she watched Amy react to the news, tears welling in her eyes. She seemed surprisingly emotional for someone so experienced.

_"Wait a moment. Do you remember when... when Serena told us that one of her pokémon was eaten?"_

"I remember," She puffed out her cheeks and crossed her arms. "Seemed like that was the only time Serena wasn't acting like a jerk."

It occurred to her that somewhere along the lines of creation, Serena Joy was a girl her age. She certainly seemed to miss that Pokemon, whatever it was… She imagined losing Rodent, and her heart nearly stopped. How would she ever survive without Rodent?

Losing a best friend like that, she supposed, would be more than enough to drive anyone a little off the edge.

Bemused, she watched Amy pace back and forth. She had a point – the slip could have been Riley's. She was never sure what he was thinking about, and he was always so mysterious. Why was he even in Oreburgh in the first place? It certainly wasn't just for the dance – he didn't seem like he had a date, plus he didn't seem like someone who liked to dance in the first place.

But, still, her mind drifted to Serena… And that notebook…

"Wait! Amy," She called, "Before we go back for breakfast, I gotta show you this."

Hesitating, she pulled out the notebook from the inside of her jacket.

"Last night, Serena's Audino attacked me and Rodent," She explained, handing the notebook over to the older trainer. "It was holding on to this. I was curious – it seemed so… strange… I didn't steal it or anything!" She waved away the thought, flustered and turning red, the last thing she wanted was to discredit herself in front of Amy so quickly.

She flipped the book open, showing Amy the drawings Serena had made of the mysterious dark four-legged 'subject'. A blurry photograph was taped to a page.

17th March – Full moon, 3am. Subject appears to operate purely on instinct – after midnight, subject does not respond to me calling his name. Subject will also react violently, growling, at my presence. Highly possible subject fails to recognise me as well. Attacks with dark type attacks – Night Slash is commonly used.

3rd April – Not full moon. Subject growls and whines in his sleep. Why have I never noticed that before?

15th May – Full moon, 1am. Second attempt to test subject's humanity failed. Subject refuses to look at reflection in a mirror, despite coaxing. At 11pm, attempted again to call his name. Subject turned and attacked me, had to be forcefully subdued with Rampardos.

"See what I mean?" She pointed at the text. "It might be Riley's, but my money's on Serena. I don't trust her. She's hiding something."

**- J -**

"Eh? No, I haven't talked to any of my relatives since... I don't know." Amethyst said, trying to remember. "My parents were never attached to the other members of the family. In fact, the aunt I had to live with wasn't very fond of me..."

Amethyst shrugged.

"I simply do not know anything, nor I remember..." She said. "And not that I need it, anyway. Emerald is all the family I need, and when he isn't with me, I have my pokémon!"

The purple-eyed trainer patted Dew's head, happily, then looked at Stephanie.

"And I also have my friends, of course." She added.

Amethyst noticed that Stephanie was very pensive, something quite unusual of the teenager. She was looking at the older woman, as if she wanted to ask her something...

"_I-I wonder what she wants to ask..._" Amethyst thought, surprised. "_I would have never imagined someone would be so interested in me..._"

But Stephanie kept talking as if there was nothing bothering her. The chestnut-head smiled with sorrow when Stephanie said that she wasn't good at anything. Amethyst tried to think of some comforting words, but the topic of the conversation changed drastically and eveything turned more serious.

The young woman observed that Stephanie agreed with her. Good. Maybe she wasn't crazy, after all. And the teen seemed to support the 'the slip belongs to Riley' theory.

"_But why... Riley...?_" Amethyst thought, sighing as she stood up from the bed.

It was then when the blondie showed her the notebook. Amethyst flickered, perplexed. That young girl had EVERYTHING!

"B-but...! Ms. Brown!" Amethyst exclaimed. "How did you...? You... You could get in troubles for that!"

And she was her accomplice. Somewhat. The purple-eyed trainer bit her lip.

"Even if you didn't steal it,"Amethyst said. "you know that Serena is very hot-blooded... And she never liked you, which makes things worse."

Amethyst tried to think of an excuse that could get Brown out of troubles. Maybe she could say that she was the one who took the notebook? Nah, Serena knew that Amethyst was inside the bedroom all night long.

"Mmmmh." Amethyst muttered, looking at the notebook. "Full moon... midnight... violent... growling... Oh, my. Doesn't this sound like those werevolves myths?"

The chestnut-head shook her head. What the hell was she thinking?

"But werevolves don't exist!" She exclaimed. "On the other hand... Well, there are pokémon that certainly remind of wolves, and they stay on two legs..."

Amethyst kept turning the pages. She felt somehow guilty, but it was too strange to be ignored.

"Mmmh." Amethyst muttered again, reading the entries. "The 'subject' uses pokémon moves, so it has to be a pokémon, okay... But it's strange... Apparently, it attacks Serena... And what's up with all this 'transformation' issue? Just what the hell?"

The woman was reading the entries Stephanie had been reading last night. Amethyst went back to the first page the teen had showed her and kept thinking.

"Could it be..." She muttered. "A human turning into a pokémon? Nah, that's impossible! Maybe this is just a fairytale Serena's writing..."

That was what Amethyst wanted to believe, but it made sense. Didn't a beast murder one of the Joy's pokémon? But what the hell was that 'subject'? And why did it turn into a pokémon in the full moon?

...And why would Serena be with a 'subject' that is apparently the beast that ate her pokémon? So many questions, and no answer.

"This is crazy." Amethyst said, leaning the book towards Stephanie. "I'm tired..."

But suddenly, Amethyst remembered something she had read that had caught her attention. Brusquely, Amethyst took the book again and looked at the first page she had read.

_"Subject turned and attacked me, had to be forcefully subdued with Rampardos."_

"Rampardos..." Amethyst said, softly. "It can't be... Or it can?"

Amethyst snapped her fingers.

"I know!" She exclaimed. "I think Roark is helping Serena to find, or subdue, the pokémon (or beast?) that ate her Sawsbuck!"

Now everything seemed too easy... Roark and Serena were living together to hunt down the beast that had eaten Serena's pokémon. And Riley, being Roark's friend, had come to help them!

...Too easy, in fact. There was still something that bugged Amethyst.

"But we don't know yet what this 'transformation' issue." She said, rubbing her chin. "I don't know... what to think, honestly."

"I'm sorry, Ms. Brown." Amethyst said. "I can't come up with any... reasonable conclusion. There's always something that bugs me."

"Humans turning into pokémon? That's impossible." The young woman added, looking at the pink ceiling. "But this beast pokémon... -Zoroark was its name, wasn't it? We don't know anything about that pokémon! And I'm afraid that, as long as we don't know anything about that pokémon, we can't be sure of ANYTHING."

Then, Amethyst noticed that Dew was pulling the bottom of her dress, somewhat worried.

"What happens, Dew?"

"Rose, roseeee." Dew said, pointing at the kitchen's door. "Roserade!"

Amethyst knew that something was wrong, but she didn't want to make Stephanie worry, so...

"Oh, we know the breakfast will get cold, don't worry, Dew. But thank you!" Amethyst said, happily.

She turned to the blondie that was behind her.

"Ms. Brown, if you don't have any question more, I think we should go back to the kitchen." Amethyst said. "Oh, and let's act as if nothing had happened, okay?"

**- N -**

"Trust me," Brown wrung her hands. "The last thing I want to do is get Pinky any more annoyed at me than she already is. But this… this is so weird… I couldn't help but take it! You agree with me, Miss Amy, don't you?"

_"I know! I think Roark is helping Serena to find, or subdue, the pokémon (or beast?) that ate her Sawsbuck!"_

That made incredible amounts of sense, Stephanie couldn't help but nod vigorously. Still, it didn't explain why Roark wanted to help Serena. Serena probably wanted revenge for the beast eating her pokemon, but what did Roark want with it? Or Riley, for the matter?

She scratched her head, equally confused. Amy was right, there still was the issue of the 'transformations'. Were they real transformations or some elaborate fantasy Serena had decided to embellish her story with?

"You might be right, Miss Amy! I'm sure Roark has something to do with this! I bet we'll find out if we… uh… maybe we'll need to find some more clues first?" She suggested. "We can go look for clues at the mines later when we go training? What do you think?"

Agreeing with Amy's idea to keep mum, she mimed dragging a zipper over her lips.

"I won't say a thing, Miss Amy, but I wanna get to the bottom of this." She looked earnestly at the older trainer. "Will you help me?"

**-x-x-x-x-x-x-**

"I planned everything," Serena whispered in disbelief. "I… I wrote down moon cycles, I have it checked on a calendar for Arceus' sake! How could I forget the full moon is tomorrow night? How'll Roark lead the First Dance if he's a growling maniacal hellbeast?"

"Audino…"

"Shut up! Nothing you say is helping!" Serena snapped. "All I wanted to worry about today was how to alter that stupid dress – and now I've got something else to worry about. If I don't get this right, we probably'll never need that dress at all. There won't be a dance! We'll be found out! Roark'll be sent off to questionable laboratories to be experimented on in the name of science! I'll be homeless! We'll be scraping dirt off the floor for food in a few weeks, you'll see, and then…"

"Audino!" The pink pokemon stomped its foot.

"You're right… You are absolutely right. I'm over-reacting. There's no reason why we should panic… We just have to hide Roark… on the one day he's supposed to be seen by everyone. With his axe-crazy blue suit friend hunting him down."

"Audino…"

"We're all going to die." Serena leaned her head back, until her skull came into gentle contact with the kitchen cabinet. "We're never going to survive tomorrow night and I blame you."

"Audino!"

"I don't care if you didn't do anything – you were holding on to the notebook! I blame you for all this. I bet Riley's thumbing through it right now as we speak."

"Serena?" Riley put his coffee down and looked across the kitchen. "Did you call me? Do you need any help?"

"Oh nothing," She answered, smiling and flustered, "nothing at all! We were just… ah… talking."

Riley raised a brow, but said nothing. The Aura user looked unconvinced.

"Amethyst and Stephanie should be back soon," He craned his neck to look for them in the hallway. Nothing yet. "Their food's getting cold. Not to mention that we should start training early if we want to get them dresses before tomorrow night."


	11. CHAPTER 011: Let the training begin!

- N - = Nicky's part

- J - = my part

**Chapter 011 - Let the training begin!**

**- J -**

"Well, the main goal of today is to get ready for tonight's battle." The purple-eyed woman said, firmly. "If we happen to find some clue, then good for us. But try to focus on your battle against Roark."

Just before leaving the bedroom, Amethyst looked at the teenager. The idea of getting involved in an incident that was about a beast that ate pokémon didn't seem very attractive to Amethyst, to be honest.

But Stephanie seemed so confident...

"Okay." The older woman finally said. "I'll help you."

Amethyst made Dew get back into the pokéball. She opened the door and they made it into the corridor. Amethyst's steps were slow, as if she didn't want to know what had made her Roserade worry so much.

"_Above all,_" Amethyst thought, her head lowered. "_I don't want Riley to get in troubles. But what if..._"

They reached the kitchen's door. Amethyst decided that she wouldn't keep thinking about that issue. There was something more important in her mind.

Both females got into the kitchen. It was pretty much strange to find Serena and her pink pokémon on the other corner of the kitchen.

"I apologize for our tardiness." Amethyst said, as usually contrasting with Stephanie's hastiness. "The wound wouldn't stop bleeding, I had a hard time dealing with it."

She then looked at the man sat by the table and remembered what was that 'more important thing'. Riley. He was there... and Amethyst didn't know what would happen if she let him go again...

Trying to remember what had they been talking about that morning, Amethyst remembered that they'd had a small argument last night and realized that she had been acting as if nothing had happened. How shameful of her!

Then, Amethyst noticed Rodent sleeping on Riley's lap. Well, it sure _had _to be comfortable there, Amethyst thought as she blushed.

"Aww, how cute!" Amethyst finally said, taking seat near the blue-haired man. "This is a nice scene, hehe."

The woman brushed Rodent's fur, softly. Her purple eyes slightly half-closed, looking gently at the rat.

"He even seems to be a good boy!" She exclaimed, laughing. "Doesn't him, Ms. Brown?"

Amethyst started to eat her breakfast, almost cold. But she tried not to mind.

"Oh, my...! Even cool, this tastes so good!" She exclaimed, to nobody in particular, although it was supposed to be adressed to Serena. "I like it!"

"Oh, can I have some orange juice, Serena?" Amethyst asked, still munching.

Taking aside the whole 'eater monster issue', the situation wasn't that bad. She had met two nice girls, one of them had even become her apprentice, and she was with Riley again! She only had to think of a way to overcome her mistake from last night. Oh, and there was Roark, too.

"So, what are we going to do today?" Amethyst asked. "Training? And what about... umh, the Dance?"

Amethyst blushed and looked at Riley from the corner of her eye. She had still to deal with the Miner's Dance. Well, if she didn't manage to find a partner, at least she had Stephanie...

**- N -**

Riley had started getting anxious when the door opened, permitting Amy and Brown back into the kitchen.

"Ah," He beamed, getting up from his seat. "Our prodigal daughters return,"

Brown giggled, and took a seat at the table as Amy patted her Raticate. Under the older trainer's hands, Rodent stirred awake and purred happily.

_"He even seems to be a good boy! Doesn't him, Ms. Brown?"_

"He's only good because he wants a cuddle," She laughed, but waited for Amy to finish with her Raticate to invite him onto her lap. She scratched him liberally between the ears and watched his tail wag back and forth with glee. "Were you a good boy to Mr Riley?"

"Raticate!"

"Amethyst's right, Miss Brown," Riley nodded, "He is very well behaved. Did you train him specially?"

"Naw," Brown shook her head. "Maybe it's something that happens when you only have one pokemon – you tend to bond with them in a different way than if you kept a full team?"

Across the kitchen, Serena heard Amy's request for a drink and nodded. "Audino'll get it for you," She said with an edge of finality – it wasn't a question. Shuffling across the room, the pink pokemon poured the pitcher of orange juice into a glass before handing it to the purple-eyed woman.

"Audino?" It looked at her pleadingly, as if hoping for a pat like she'd given Rodent.

Riley kept silent, thinking about the obvious bandage now on Brown's arm. What had Amethyst just said? It hadn't stopped bleeding?

"Are you sure you're ready for training… today?" He tried not to sound like he was belittling her, "In your condition, it'd be easy to reopen a wound, especially since we're going into a mine."

"Pfft," Brown flexed her arm, "I can take it! Besides, I really really really want to get that badge as fast as I can. The Pokemon League tournaments are coming soon, and I want to qualify this year."

"This year? Why the rush?" Riley raised a hand, tempted to read her mind to find out, but settled for asking politely instead. "Couldn't you simply go for next year's tournament? Completing eight gyms in a single year sounds… incredulously difficult."

"That's the thing." Brown seemed slightly flustered, reminded of how little time she had left. "My parents are fighting in the League this year… and I want to beat them."

Serena had stopped washing dishes, and wandered back to the dining table to listen in. Even her Audino extended its curly ears to find out more.

"My parents… well, they're not about to get a prize or anything for good parenting. I haven't seen them in years. When the royalties from The Brown Effect book started coming in, they decided to use the money to further their trainer career – they took on the Hoenn League, and now, they're doing Sinnoh.

"So, this year, I got a letter from them. They'd already gotten eight badges and they were going to join the Sinnoh League tournament, and they asked whether I'd like to come along to cheer for them. I didn't have a lot of money, so I asked to borrow some from Gold – just for a short trip." She turned to Amy, chuckling. "Amy, you know what Gold's like. He didn't think a short trip was enough!

"Gold gave me a ton more money than I asked for – enough to live for several months in Sinnoh – so I could take on the League myself. He was all like: 'You're not their cheerleader, you're their daughter, and it's about time they realised it!'" She waggled a finger in the air, and dropped her voice to match his baritone, knitting her brows to feign Gold's infamous short temper. "I guess he wanted me to assert myself. I wanted to prove to the other dexholders I could be a strong trainer, too, so I agreed."

She shrugged. "And that's how I got here. If Rodent and I can get the Coal Badge and move on to Eterna for the Forest Badge by next week, we'll still be on schedule. Rodent has a type advantage against the grass types in Eterna, so I don't see much of a problem there… but beating Roark's a big problem for us."

Serena looked slightly moved. She knew all too well what it was like growing up with parents that didn't see eye-to-eye with her. Brown was lucky she had this generous 'Gold' fellow, whoever he was – she never had a soul to help her survive without her parents. She was the one who had to pay for her own school fees, she had to work to buy her books, her food, the clothes on her back. Brown was definitely too lucky to have a benefactor like Gold.

"Wait, did you say you had a type advantage against grass types?" She raised a brow. "The last time I checked, your rat was normal-type. That's far from super-effective against a grass type."

Brown waggled a finger in the air, tutting. "Watch this," She turned to her Raticate. "Ready, buddy?"

"Ticate!" Rodent nodded, grinning.

Hastily, she grabbed Amy's plate of food out from under her, holding it slightly above her Raticate's head. "GO!" She hollered. "RODENT! FLAME WHEEL!"

Instantly, Rodent doubled over, hunching and squeezing his tiny body. As if by magic, his fur began to spark, glowing brightly before setting itself ablaze at his collar. It looked, for a brief and perfect moment, like a tiny Typhlosion. Serena Joy gave a tiny gasp of shock, which pleased Brown to no end.

Carefully, Rodent lurched forward, spinning like a wheel, the fire spreading all over his body, until the spectacle resembled a little campfire at his trainer's feet. The bacon on the plate began to sizzle and splatter, hissing and sputtering as if they were back in the pan.

"Perfect," Brown beamed. "Okay, Rodent, you can stop now,"

The spinning slowed until all that was left was a dazed-looking Raticate. Feeling pleased, Rodent turned to his trainer and grinned.

"That was awesomesauce," She gave it a thumbs-up. "You rocked, boy!"

"Raticate," Rodent blushed.

"C'mere," Placing Amy's now-warm breakfast back on the table, Brown held her arms out to her Pokemon. Gleefully, Rodent jumped into her hug. "You're such an awesome feller, you know that?"

Serena watched the display of affection in silence, rubbing her arm. She darted a glance at her Audino, who was looking at her with large, sad eyes. She didn't need to understand its language to understand what it was thinking: would the two of them ever be that close?

She cautiously reached her hand, giving the top of her Pokemon's head a single, brief pat. In a second, it was over, and her arms were back to being crossed over her chest.

"Not bad," She added, "but you're going to need a lot more than a parlour trick like that to beat Roark."

"We'll see about that," Brown steeled her brow. "Rodent and I are going to beat him hands down!"

Serena chuckled humourlessly. "Blondie – nobody's ever beaten Roark on their first try, at least none I've seen. If you beat him on your first shot, I'll kiss a pokemon."

"Is that a deal?" Brown looked pumped at the prospect of a bet.

"Why not? I'll even let you pick the Pokemon."

"Oh yes!" Brown pumped her fist in the air. "You are so going to kiss a Muk when this is over!"

"I hope you're not actually thinking of winning," Serena laughed.

"We totally are!" Brown snapped, agitated, "We'll show you! I'll make you eat your words and-"

"Ladies!" A blue shield materialised between both normal-type trainers. Brown staggered backwards out of shock. "Control yourselves!"

His velvet-gloved hand in the air, Riley shook his head. "Let's not get too hasty here, Stephanie. We've a lot to teach you if you want to be ready for Roark, and there's a high chance you won't beat him on your first try."

Serena smirked, generating a low growl from the teenager.

"Stephanie. Don't start a fight." Riley commanded sternly – the combination of gentlemanly politeness and strictness in his voice was enough to make the younger trainer back down. Riley leaned back, letting the aura shield dissolve.

"Amethyst," he looked at her. "To answer your question, we're going to be training first. I was hoping you could spar your Togekiss against Stephanie's Rodent at the Mines, maybe until lunchtime."

He indicated to his pokegear, smiling coyly, "I made some calls just now, and, if we finish early, I've got a little surprise planned for the both of you."

"What kind of surprise?" Brown perked up instantly. Rodent scampered onto her shoulders, ears alert and excited.

"I won't give anything away just yet," He laughed. "But I'll give you a hint – it's for the Dance."

He'd arranged for a fitting for dresses for the Dance. It wasn't much of a secret – they'd figure it out by the time he dragged them both to the tailors. Paying for their outfits was the least he could do, given the circumstances. Not to mention it was the nicest thing he could think of giving Amethyst short of an actual proposal to the Dance.

From the corner of his eye, he gave Amy a glance. She still wasn't talking directly to him about anything more than polite conversation. It was like they'd just met all over again – all their old familiarity was gone. She probably hadn't forgotten about last night. It still left him somewhat raw thinking about it or, even worse, the idea that Amethyst would be joining the First Dance with someone else as her partner. What were the odds she still wanted him?

"It's getting late, we should go," He finally steeled his conviction, rose from his seat and placed his fedora back onto his head. "We'll see you for dinner, Miss Joy," he added, doffing his hat in a gentlemanly fashion to Serena.

"Care to lead the way to the mines, Amethyst?" He added.

**- J -**

"_Our prodigal daughters return."_

What the hell? Amethyst thought, incredulous. It was okay if Riley believed she was too young, but calling her a daughter was a bit too much...

Well, she tried not to think about that.

"I know what you mean." She said, looking at Stephanie. "When I only had my Eevee, we were very attached..."

Serena's pink pokémon poured Amethyst's glass with juice.

"So its name is Audino!" The purple-eyed trainer exclaimed. "I always wondered what kind of pokémon it was! Unovvian pokémon are so strange, but Audino is cute as well!"

Amethyst listened to Stephanie's parents' story. So it was never too late to conquer a League, uuh? The woman let both the teen and the man talk. However, she couldn't help but feel surprised when she heard about Gold.

"Oh! I didn't know Gold was that generous!" Amethyst said. "Crystal must have put him in his place, haha!"

Gold had always been to air-headed for Amethyst. Not that she disliked him, but he wasn't the type of person she wanted to be with for too long. On the other hand, the strict, bossy Crystal was like a model for Amethyst. So young, yet so liable...

After Rodent's demostration, Amethyst was impressed.

"So this is what you told me about when we met!" She exclaimed. "Since Rodent's Explotaro's son, he knows that fire-type move! It's so amazing!"

The young woman tasted the re-heated bacon. It was delicious! Amethyst thanked the blondie for warming her meal again. In the blink of an eye, Amethyst's breakfast had disappeared.

"Thank you very much for this." She said, nodding.

But the Joy was too busy dealing with Stephanie. Those two were bonded to hate each other. Definitely.

"Well, Serena, not that I want to be annoying..." Amethyst intervened, shyly. "But the Sinnoh Dexholder, Platina Berlitz, beat Roark in their first match..."

Thanks goodness Riley stopped the argument! It was starting to get so loud... so annoying...

If there was something Amethyst disliked, it was noisy, annoying people. In fact, she even felt surprised for liking Stephanie. Well, maybe she was a bit loud-mouthed, but definitely a good girl...

"_Amethyst, to answer your question, we're going to be training first. I was hoping you could spar your Togekiss against Stephanie's Rodent at the Mines, maybe until lunchtime."_

"Okay." Amethyst said, still not looking at Riley's eyes. "As you said, it's going to be very tough for Ms. Brown to beat Roark in the first match, so I'll do my best!"

When Riley mentioned the surprise, Amethyst looked at him, surprised. It was then when she remembered about the Dance... again... She figured they would go to buy some clothes. Heh, was that a surprise?

Amethyst wasn't the type of girl that loved going shopping, at least not so much as Pink and her sister-in-law, Morganite. Man, they were crazy about clothes!

Anyway, Amethyst had to be presentable for Riley... Wait. It wasn't like she was going to go with him, was it? Didn't he think she was too young for him? Meh.

"Okay." The chestnut-head said, standing up. "Take care, Serena, see you tonight."

They got out of the flat.

"_Care to lead the way to the mines, Amethyst?"_

"Sure." She said.

Thanks goodness the mines were near, because Amethyst didn't have anything planned to talk about while they walked. The three of them got to the mines and went down some stairs.

"Are you sure we won't disturb the miners?" Amethyst asked.

She hated to cause problems. They finally found a mine in which noone seemed to be working.

"Okay, this place is empty." Amethyst said, looking around. Well, maybe there was some miner underground, under their feet. Oh well. "Ms. Brown, please, meet my Togekiss, Toge."

Amethyst sent her Togekiss out. His wings were strong and muscular, as if he was used to fly long distances.

"Toge, toge! Kiss!"

Apart from that, Toge seemed to be a goody pokémon. He looked at the brown-eyed trainer and her Raticate, a nice expression on his face.

"It would be kind of impossible to force Rodent to have a high defense like Toge." Amethyst said. "But since Rodent, although small, has a sturdy body, just like Toge, we'll try to take advantage of his body-type to rise his defense!"

Just in case it didn't work, Amethyst had a bunch of items in her bag. She was the Item Specialist, after all.

"We'll start as in any regular training." Amethyst said. "Battling! Show me your speed first! Rock smash!"

Maybe not the softest way to start (since that move was fight-typed, hence strong against Rodent), but it was Toge's weakest attack. However, although Toge had the defense, Rodent had the speed. But Toge was definitely more experienced. Amethyst'd had him since she was 13, after all.

"Now, fly to the skies and hit him with a fly attack!" Amethyst exclaimed.

Toge flied high, getting prepared to attack again. What would Stephanie do? Then, Amethyst noticed something was missing.

"Riley." She said, turning to the man that was behind her. "Where's Lucario?"


	12. CHAPTER 012: Training at the mines!

- N - = Nicky's part

- J - = my part

**Chapter 012 - Training at the mines!**

**- N -**

_"Are you sure we won't disturb the miners?"_

"I highly doubt we would," Riley shook his head. "Besides, Roark usually recommends his Gym Trainers to train in the mines, too. And after several hours of carting rocks about, I'm quite sure the occasional Pokemon battle'd be a welcome distraction for a miner."

True enough, miners had stopped working, looking at the trio pass them with interested expressions on their face. Several elbowed each other and pointed at Riley excitedly.

"Do they know you?" Brown raised an eyebrow, curious. "You seem kinda popular here,"

"I know the management well," Riley answered simply. "Byron and his family own the mines here, and I've watched Roark grow up. The family and I are close, to say the least, and I often use the mines to train Laelaps."

"Really?" Brown looked surprised. "You must know the place well!"

"Well enough," Riley sounded modest. "Look out – there's usually a big boulder there."

Stephanie took a quick step backwards, before tentatively reaching out her foot. Sure enough, it met a large rock – just the right size for her to trip over.

"Damn, he's good," She whispered, before catching up to the other two.

Riley and Amy walked in awkward silence. Riley looked like there was something on his chest that he desperately needed to tell her, while she looked like she was afraid to talk to him, as if she was afraid of what they'd discuss.

I hope I didn't drive them apart because of the Zoroark business. She felt somewhat guilty, regretting dragging Amy into her investigation. The worry ate at her as she walked, gnawing at her with guilt and despair– until she tripped over another rock in her path, and landed on her face in dirt.

"Careful, Stephanie, it's starting to get dark," Riley noted, raising a glowing hand in the air to light the way further into the mine. The blue glow of his Aura fell on a small pile of red hard hats, a little lamp affixed to the brim of each one.

"You might want to put these on," He offered one to each of his companions. "There's a reason why Roark wears his."

Watching Brown fumbling with her hat, he reached out and fixed the strap under her chin, tapping the light to turn on for her. "It gets darker as we go further," He explained. He didn't need a hat himself, apparently, not when he was his own flashlight.

Thankfully, they didn't have to go in very deep, as Amy found a secluded cavern free from miners, and high enough to release her flying-type properly. Before going in, Brown darted a quick glance back into the darker tunnels. It seemed like the caverns deeper in were made of nothing but shadows and mystery.

The perfect place for a creature to hide, she thought.

_"Ms. Brown, please, meet my Togekiss, Toge."_

Toge appeared in a flash of bright pokeball energy, hovering gracefully in the air. Brown gasped at the pokemon, in awe of how strong it seemed. Those muscled wings looked like they'd make easy work of her spine. Snap.

"Woah," She breathed.

Thankfully, Toge seemed just as well-behaved as Dew, chirruping in a friendly manner and looking for all the world to be the sweetest thing Brown had seen since she arrived in Oreburgh.

A sense of nostalgia hit her, and she recalled Gold's own Togekiss. Togetaro was nowhere near as friendly as Amy's Toge – for one, the aggressive Togekiss enjoyed throwing aura spheres at her, even without The Brown Effect. Gold had told her once that Togetaro learnt a lot of his manners from him, and she didn't need much to believe him. Togetaro was rude, obnoxious, and slightly too competitive – but Toge?

"He's kinda sweet," she admitted, but refused to go near the big bird pokemon, in case she triggered the Brown Effect on him.

Instead, Rodent leapt from her shoulders and assumed an attacking stance in front of the flying-type, ready to fight at her command.

"You ready, buddy?"

"Raticate," He nodded. "Ticate."

"Alright then – let's try to move first – Tackle!"

But Amy had given her order first, asking for a Rock Smash from the large pokemon. Rodent gulped, frozen in place.

"No!" Stephanie screamed. "Run Rodent! Dodge it!"

Quickly, the Raticate jerked to life, scampering quickly away from the attack, and dodging with barely a hair's breadth.

"That was close," Stephanie breathed a sigh of relief. "Okay, Rodent, Quick Atta- wait. Where'd he go?"

It seemed the Togekiss had vanished, Rodent looked about frantically for his opponent, panicking and scampering about.

"Above you!"

The Togekiss had flew into the air, and had already started to descend for his attack.

"Hold your ground, Rodent!" Brown called. "And, when he gets close enough, use Hyper Fang!"

On Amethyst's side of the field, Riley watched the scene with interest, his chin resting on both his gloved knuckles. Toge had grown since he'd last seen the pokemon – for one, it seemed larger, maybe a little more mature? He wondered if Laelaps would still be able to defeat him now.

"Your pokemon has grown admirably, Amy," He noted, hopeful that she'd look his way. "He seems so much more confident with himself, so mature, a little like yourself."

He paused, however, when she asked where his Lucario was.

"Laelaps?" He looked at her, "I've sent him on an errand. He'll be around the area." He hoped his voice was sufficiently dismissive – he didn't want her prying too much. But still, he couldn't force himself to be dismissive, not to Amethyst, the last woman to Earth he wanted to dismiss. He wanted her by his side, never to leave him again…

He sighed. As if that would ever happen. He must've won a gold medal in driving women away by now, he thought.

"Why are you curious, anyway?" He attempted to be conversational. "Do you need him for something? If you think the mines are dangerous, I assure you, there's nothing in here that I won't protect you from."

Had that come out sounding too… forceful? He wondered. He hoped he hadn't scared her. But, still, it was the truth. He'd punch a Steelix in the face if he had to, if it meant gaining Amethyst's favour again.

**- J -**

Amethyst had ignored Riley's popularity at the mines. She wasn't the kind of person that loved being the center of attention, after all. On top of that, she had to wear a hard hat. A hard hat.

"_Oh, Arceus..._" Amethyst thought, desperate. "_I'm sure I look ridiculous..._"

They reached the perfect place to train. Yes, she could definitely use Toge there. They couldn't even see the ceiling of the cave! She noticed Stephanie staring at Toge. What would she be thinking? Maybe she had encountered a Togekiss before... Amethyst knew that Gold used to have a Togepi, but she wasn't sure if he had evolved it...

However, Amethyst felt kind of suffocated for being in such a deep place. Well, it wasn't time to think about it...

...It was time to battle!

"Heh, I knew he would dodge the attack!" Amethyst exclaimed, after Toge executed his rock smash attack. "Despite being a flying-type, Togekiss are known for being slow!"

While Toge was flying over the top of the cave (they barely saw a white, blurred thing floating), Amethyst talked directly to the teenager.

"This is why Toge is your perfect opponent for this training, Ms. Brown." The chestnut-head said. "Roark's pokémon are rock-type... They're as slow (if not more) as Toge!"

Toge nosedived at full speed towards Rodent. He hit the rat, however, he earned an hyper fang in exchange.

"Hyper fang," Amethyst said. "an attack that has a 10% chance of causing the target to flinch."

Not to mention it was a very powerful attack. But Toge's defense was too high.

"_Your pokemon has grown admirably, Amy. He seems so much more confident with himself, so mature, a little like yourself."_

"Like yourself"? Was that a compliment?

"Umh, thank you." Amethyst said, turning back to him to ask him about his Lucario.

"On an errand? I see." The purple-eyed trainer said, flickering repeatedly.

He didn't use to be that vague when they were at Iron Island. He always told her everything... Amethyst drove her eyes again to the battle.

"I'll teach you how to use items, Ms. Brown!" She exclaimed, taking an item out from her bag. "They can be pretty useful, you know! X speed!"

Amethyst threw an item to Toge, who started to quiver its wings faster.

"Now, my Toge's speed is match for Rodent's!" Amethyst exclaimed. "Quick, Toge, use double-edge!"

In the blink of an eye, Toge charged against Rodent brutally. However, Toge seemed hurt, too.

"Double-edge is a 120-based-power attack that, despite being so strong, makes the user receive recoil damage equal to 25% of the damage done to the target!" Amethyst explained. "I don't recommed you to use it against Roark, to be honest."

Flame wheel, hyper fang... What other moves would Rodent have? Were they all offensive? If so, then Amethyst would have to lend Stephanie some items...

"_Why are you curious, anyway? Do you need him for something? If you think the mines are dangerous, I assure you, there's nothing in here that I won't protect you from."_

Wait, what? Amethyst didn't know whether to feel flattered or annoyed. Did Riley think she was a damsel in distress? But then again, he wanted to protect her...

...Which made Amethyst blush hard. She turned to Riley, a softer expression on her face.

"Mmh... Well, thank you... Although I wasn't thinking this place was dangerous, anyway." She muttered. "I was just surprised, because Laelaps and you are inseparable..."

Had she been being too harsh towards Riley? Well, it wasn't like she had insulted him or ignored him, anyway. She had just being keeping the distance.

Anyway, she couldn't stop feeling guilty. From now on, she decided to be nicer.

"Now, Toge!" Amethyst exclaimed. "Use metronome!"

Metronome, the surprise attack. They didn't know which kind of attack would come out from that.

And the attack was... seismic toss. Whoa, Rodent sure was unlucky. Toge grabbed him with his unbeatable wings and threw him from the air.

"_Seismic toss is an attack that inflicts damage equal to the user's level._" Amethyst thought, gulping. "_And since Toge is in a quite high level..._"

She wondered if she was being a good 'master'. Or was she being too brute? She gave Riley a sidelong glance, trying to read his expression and waiting him to not to notice.

She shook her head and turned back to Stephanie.

"What are you going to do now, Ms. Brown?" She asked. "Rodent is badly hurt..."

**- N -**

Rodent ground his tiny heels into the cavern floor as the Togekiss slammed bodily into him. Quickly, he snapped his jaw shut over the flying-type's nose and jumped back out of the way.

"Awesome!" Brown told him, "Keep going, Rodent, you're doing great."

Turning to her opponent, she called out: "Rodent and I still have some fight in us! Do your best – we can take it! Besides, Rodent has a special hold item; it'll help us for sure."

Rodent nodded vigorously, setting his fur on fire briefly to prove his point – he was a strong pokemon. He'd win this. Hopefully.

Brown watched in vague horror as the X-Speed took effect and Toge began to beat his wings with a new fervour. Almost faster than Rodent, it seemed.

"Ohcrap." She whispered in a tiny voice, before steeling herself. "We can do this, Steffie. C'mon, now's not the time to panic – Don't be scared Rodent! We can do this!"

Running with all the power in his tiny body, Rodent darted away from the Togekiss – only to get hit. With Toge as fast as him, outrunning him wasn't an option.

"Rodent!" Brown cried out, "Don't try to dodge anymore, boy! There's no way you can run faster than him!"

Spinning round, Rodent turned to face his opponent. He pawed the ground in front of him, tossing his head like a bull. A red glow enveloped him as he finished his dance. Brown stared, mouth agape. She definitely hadn't taught him that!

"Swords Dance…?" Brown flipped her pokedex open, amazed at the new move her Raticate was using. "…increases the Attack by two stages? Awesome! That's what I'm talking about! We're standing to fight! Show Amy that Attack stat of yours!"

Despite receiving damage from the impact of its Double-Edge, Toge still seemed ready for more. Which didn't seem the case for Rodent. A few more moves seemed more than enough to finish off the little rat.

"C'mon, we have to move first!" She screamed. "Rodent! Hyper Fang again!"

Before the Raticate could nod in agreement, he was whisked off the floor by the flying-type. It had used a metronome and was now… What was it doing?

It was only when Rodent's body impacted the ground did the pokedex tell her – Seismic Toss. Brown gritted her teeth.

Dammit, she thought. Even with natural stat boosts like Swords Dance, items like X Speed really could help in a battle. She wondered whether items were Amy's special talent. It seemed highly possible.

They'd have to attack before the opponent, and the best way to do that would be…

"Quick attack! Now!" She commanded.

Rodent took off as fast as he could, slamming himself against the Togekiss and jumping back quickly. Brown cheered aloud – it had happened so fast, she'd almost missed it as she blinked!

"THAT WAS AWESOME!"

"Raticate," Rodent thumped his chest proudly.

"That wasn't bad, Miss Amy!" Stephanie called out across the cave, cupping her hands around her mouth. "Show me what else you've got! We can take it!"

"TICATE!" Rodent echoed her in bravado. "RATICATE!"

"Okay, let's try using Flame Wheel again," She whispered to her pokemon. "It should be stronger now that you've used Swords Dance."

Rodent nodded, willing his body to catch fire again. Quickly, he spun himself into a rolling wheel of fire, and aimed himself to collide with the Togekiss.

"She's using a stat-enhancing move," Riley nodded in approval. "Laelaps himself loves to do it before he fights… but it seems slightly odd that an impulsive trainer like herself knew how to plan ahead like that."

Curious, he rubbed his chin. "Did your brother ever mention training with a girl like her, Amethyst?" He asked. "I remember seeing him fight at the Hoenn Battle Frontier – it seems like a strategy he'd use."

He watched Amy's face as she processed the information about his Lucario. Was she suspicious of him?

_"I was just surprised, because Laelaps and you are inseparable..."_

Ah. That.

"True," He nodded. "I think you'll find Laelaps and I are still very much together," he chuckled. Together like an old married couple.

"No, he isn't acting on his own – we're both searching for something together in Oreburgh. We have different reasons, though. Personally, I consider our target an impediment for safety in the area, but as for Laelaps… Well, Laelaps seems to have a natural vendetta against it." He tipped his hat deeper over his eyes, concealing them. "Dogs will be dogs, I suppose. Lucario simply don't get along with whatever it is I'm looking for – it's a little like that Zangoose-Seviper thing, I'm quite sure.

"It must be a long-standing rivalry," He noted. "It's not just Lucario who hunt down what we're seeking, but Aura guardians before me have been doing it in historical texts for years."

He looked at the woman, a tinge of regret in his eyes. "I'm afraid I can't tell you more, Amethyst," He looked at her gravely. Zoroarks were feral, but they weren't stupid – attacking an Aura guardians loved ones was an easy and dirty way to get to them.

Continuing to watch her battle, he glanced out of the cavern entrance, pleasantly surprised to see a glimpse of black and blue fur.

"Laelaps?" He stood up as the Lucario trotted to his side. He kept his voice at a low whisper. "Did you find anything?"

The Lucario nodded, bowing its head for his master to read his mind. Riley raised his hand, allowing the vision to flow into his own head – images of caverns, neverending and desolately dark… One cavern in particular was covered in scratches, gouges had been dug into the wall, first by claws, then by fingernails, desperate and pained. Bits of clothing lay ripped on the ground.

Laelaps held out a torn piece of cloth. Riley's brow rose questionably – the cloth came from a miner's uniform.

"Well, that's terribly unspecific," He looked at the cloth. "It could have come from any one of the employees here."

The Lucario took the cloth from him, flipping it over to reveal part of a name. Whoever this shirt had belonged to, the owner had his name sewn on it. In pink thread, Riley could vaguely make out the letter 'K'.

Concentrating, he tried to read the Aura on the clothes, but was met with nothing but darkness.

"It's as I suspected," He muttered. "The Zoroark's dark powers are messing with my own."

"Our friend K here could have been a victim," He noted. "Or our target…" He pocketed the clue in his jacket.

"If I can't find him with Aura, we'll have to do it the old fashioned way. We'll use a telephone book." He laughed mirthlessly. "How many people do you think have a name that starts to ends with K?"

The Lucario stared at him dully.

"Did you find anything else?"

Laelaps tilted his head, as if indicating for the trainer to follow him to where he'd found the scratches. There were Auras in that room, Riley knew, that Laelaps wanted him to read for himself.

From out of a corner of his eye, he thought he saw Amy's head tilt towards him. A tiny flicker of hope moved within him – but when he turned to see her, her face was back staring at the battle in front of her.

As much as he wanted to go to the cavern with the scratches, he still didn't feel ready to leave her.

"We'll stay here a while longer," Riley told his Lucario. "When this battle is over, I'll tell them where I'm going."


	13. CHAPTER 013: Items, items everywhere

- N - = Nicky's part

- J - = my part

**Chapter 013 - Items, items everywhere**

**- J -**

Amethyst watched carefully as Rodent used swords dance.

"_Mmh... This seems to have become a 'speed battle'._" The purple-eyed woman thought, rubbing her chin. "_Not what I had in mind, definitely._"

Definitely, she was failing as master. Amethyst sighed. Didn't they have to train Rodent's defense instead of his speed? Well, the training would be based on more things other than battling, but still...

"_I wonder if the poor Rodent will be okay after that seismic toss._" Amethyst kept thinking, frowning.

He was. Badly hurt, but still standing. Rodent sure had lots of stamina inside his chubby body.

Toge was hit by Rodent at full speed. Quick attack? Amethyst smiled.

"Heh, that was an intelligent move." She said." It's always useful to know about attacks that enable you to attack first."

"In case your pokémon can't learn moves like those, there are items with the same function." The woman explained. "The more prepared you are, the better."

"And now, it's my turn again!" Amethyst exclaimed, amused for attacking in the second turn for the first time. "Rock smash again!"

Toge hit Rodent. It was close, the rat almost dodged it thanks to his speed, but Toge managed to hit him with the edge of his left wing.

"Did I mention that the more times you use rock smash, the more damage the user inflicts?" Amethyst asked. "You were lucky that Rodent mostly dodged it, Ms. Brown."

Alright. Next turn. Rodent attacked again. Why wasn't Amethyst surprised to see he was going his best move?

"_She's using a stat-enhancing move. Laelaps himself loves to do it before he fights… but it seems slightly odd that an impulsive trainer like herself knew how to plan ahead like that."_

"Yeah... You're right." The chestnut-head nodded. "Maybe, I have underestimated her. Although her knowledge is kind of small, she still knows a thing or two."

"_Did your brother ever mention training with a girl like her, Amethyst? I remember seeing him fight at the Hoenn Battle Frontier – it seems like a strategy he'd use."_

"Mmh, maybe. He talked to me about a lot of people, so I can't remember..."

She turned to the man who was now explaining some kind of story to her. "An impediment for safety"? Really? Amethyst had been half-listening, so she couldn't be sure of what had he said first.

_"– it's a little like that Zangoose-Seviper thing, I'm quite sure. It must be a long-standing rivalry. It's not just Lucario who hunt down what we're seeking, but Aura guardians before me have been doing it in historical texts for years."_

Lolwut? History classes now? Amethyst sighed (again).

"_I'm afraid I can't tell you more, Amethyst."_

Yeah, sure. Amethyst smiled mysteriously and stepped back to where Riley was. Standing on her tiptoes, she approached her mouth to Riley's ear.

"If you don't want to tell me the whole story," She whispered. "then why did you start telling it in the first place~?"

Amethyst talked again, louder, so Stephanie could hear her.

"I knew you would let your most powerful attack for the ending of the battle!" She exclaimed. "And, because I saw that coming, I had an ace up my sleeve myself as well!"

When the flames dissipated, Toge appeared amongst clouds of smoke. He was hurt, but in a better condition than anyone would have expected.

He was eating a berry...

"I made Toge hold an Occa Berry!" Amethyst announced. "I'm sorry, Ms. Brown, but if we manage to land this hit, we'll win! Metronome!"

Toge shook his wings. A few seconds later, he emitted a bolt of blue electricity that hit Rodent.

"It's shock wave!" Amethyst exclaimed, recognizing the attack. "A move that is unaffected by modifications in the accuracy or the evasion!

"To put it simple," She added. "it's an attack that never misses, like aura sphere, magical leaf or swift."

How could Stephanie and Rodent be so... unlucky? Amethyst sighed as she watched Rodent tremble on the floor. Toge landed, not putting his eyes away from his opponent.

"It seems that this battle is over." Amethyst said, seriously. "I'm sorry, Ms. Brown, maybe I shouldn't have used a... rely-on-luck move, because it made us too lucky."

The purple-eyed trainer put her hands on her waist.

"Moreover," She added. "in this battle all we have done has been increasing the speed... Specially you, Ms. Brown, who used swords dance. Knowing that Rodent's speed is already high by itself, why would you teach him a move like that?"

Then again, the teen looked as shocked as Amethyst when Rodent used swords dance. Maybe she didn't teach him that? But how was that possible?

"You should teach him some move like growl or something that makes the opponent's attack decrease." Amethyst said, somewhat pensive.

Her thought were interrupted by Laelaps, who had come back with his trainer. Amethyst turned to them, willing to salute the strong Lucario...

...but when she saw Riley and Laelaps talking as low as they could, she stayed where she was. What were they planning? She remembered Riley's words. "An impediment for safety". Could it be...?

No. It wasn't time to think about that stuff. She turned to the blondie in front of her and handed her a type of potion.

"Here. Have a full restore." Amethyst said. "The most powerful potion, to be exact. Rodent will have to be at his best during this training. And we might battle again at the end of this whole training."

She gave Riley and Laelaps a sidelong glance. They were still talking. No, not only that. They had some kind of cloth in hands. She noticed that Riley had caught her looking at him, so she turned her head back to Stephanie and Rodent again.

"_Just what the HELL am I doing?_" She thought; she finally turned to Riley and Lucario. "Is there any problem? You two seem... worried."

Amethyst kept talking about other things so she wouldn't look like a meddler.

"I... I 'kind of' need your advice, Riley." She said, embarrassed. "It's my first time being a master, so... I'd thought of teaching Ms. Brown all the possible attacks Rodent can do to lower the opponent's attack or increase his own defense, and after that I'll show her all the items she can use for the same functions. Does that seem like a good plan?"

**- N -**

Brown gritted her teeth again as the Rock Smash attack grazed Rodent's side. Rodent instinctively broke into a run to avoid the attack, only to be smacked by the tip of Toge's wing.

Dammit, Brown thought, there was no way Rodent could really outmanoeuvre the Togekiss. Not when Toge was boosted by X-Speed. Besides, the Togekiss was naturally good – it had only taken the tip of Toge's wing, but was more than enough to intercept Rodent's running and send him tumbling and squeaking off to a side.

"Rodent? You okay?" She was tempted to run to him and check him for bruises, but she knew the rules – that would be a forfeit. Instead, she called from the side: "YOU CAN DO THIS! GET UP! GET UP!"

"Raticate!" Rodent called back, devastated by the Rock Smash, but still standing on shaky legs.

Rodent prepared himself for a Flame Wheel, only to find out as the smoke cleared that the Togekiss was protected by its held item.

"I didn't know berries could do that." Brown looked bemused. "Pwoah."

"Catiraaar…" Rodent growled, annoyed. The Togekiss was flipping its wings back and forth again. Tick tock. Tick Tock.

"That's Metronome, Rodent – you gotta be careful! Expect anything!"

A blue bolt of electricity escaped the flying-type, aiming itself towards Rodent. Hastily and instinctively, he began to run – maybe he could escape it. But as he turned a corner, instead of going straight and crashing against the rocks, the electricity turned to follow him.

Rodent was much too surprised to dodge it.

"NO WAY!" Brown gasped, "THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE!"

"Ah, Shock Wave," Riley noted, before calling out to Brown, "You can't dodge Shock Wave. It always hits it target. Remember that well, Stephanie – Roark's Rampardos is infamous for its Shock Wave attack."

"I'll remember," Brown muttered, a little softer than usual.

Rodent struggled to keep himself upright, but his legs gave way and his tiny body squeaked onto the cavern floor. The battle seemingly over, Toge gracefully roosted on the ground.

Brown darted to the Pokemon's side, pulling the plump rat into her arms. "Hey, hey big guy," She whispered soothingly. "You okay?"

Rodent's fur was matted with sweat and smouldering slightly from the heat of the electric attack. What fur he had that wasn't standing up with static was in ragged clumps. Still, despite his injuries, the Raticate was downright furious. Brown recognised that face.

"You're mad at yourself for losing, aren't you?"

The Raticate refused to face her.

"When are you ever going to learn that I don't care if you're weak?" She ran a hand over his fur, patting and smoothening it down into place. Rodent purred, despite himself. "You're my tough little guy, and I'm never, ever going to hold a loss against you."

Rodent turned to look his trainer in her face. "Ticate?" He mumbled.

"You were just unlucky, not to mention you were fighting against a really really really strong opponent." She looked up at Amy, who was standing by her.

_" Knowing that Rodent's speed is already high by itself, why would you teach him a move like that?"_

"But I didn't teach him Swords Dance…" Brown looked at her Pokemon, a look of steely determination was written on the Raticate's face. "Sometimes, Rodent tends to do things on his own. When I was younger, lots of people were trying to teach me how to battle, but I never remembered their strategies very well. Rodent, however, he can."

Rodent looked mollified at the praise, but Brown was troubled at the idea that her partner wasn't entirely listening to her. If a pokemon didn't always obey his trainer's commands, the results weren't always the best.

"Maybe we need to communicate better." She muttered.

Brown noticed Amy was offering her a Full Restore. Gratefully, she took the potion. She fumbled with the nozzle for a brief moment.

"Hold on… Just a sec…" She fumbled again with the Full Restore bottle. She'd never seen a potion this expensive or complicated before. "Got it!"

She pulled the trigger – which sprayed the medicine into her eye.

"OW! Ow ow ow."

In her lap, Rodent burst out laughing.

"Oh, shut up," Brown laughed, giggling at first, before lying with her back on the floor and gasping of breath between guffaws. "You're such a jerk, Rodent."

"Raticate," Rodent stood on his trainer's horizontal stomach, and tried to use the potion himself. It took five seconds of annoyed fumbling before he handed the bottle back to her.

Brown chuckled as she took the medicine. She aimed it, making sure the bottle was pointing the right way, into his multiple bruises. As if by magic, the wounds closed up, resealed themselves, and looked, for the world, as if they'd never happened.

Rodent wagged his tail, pleased, as he inspected his body.

"This is powerful stuff," Brown muttered, reading the label. "I mean. Wow. This is really really really good at healing stuff, Miss Amy. Where did you get it?"

She opened her bag, which was brimming with standard-grade purple Potions. "We just use these all the time. They're cheap, but they don't seem to work very well. Well, they did at first, when Rodent was a Ratatta, but now… it's like they barely work anymore. I don't know why."

Riley watched both young women talk, the beginning of a blush on his face.

Gently, he brought his gloved hands up to his cheek, where the feeling of Amethyst's breath had been just moments before.

_"If you don't want to tell me the whole story, then why did you start telling it in the first place~?"_

Because I can't tell you everything – and yet I still want to. I can't leave you in the dark forever, Amethyst, not like before. I could never do that to you again.

He didn't say it, although he wished he had.

Laelaps rumbled low in his throat. _I know you like her_, he seemed to say. _What's keeping you both apart?_

"Politics," he muttered. "Politics, a fox, and unabashed self-loathing at my past self's inherent lack of chivalry."

Laelaps blinked, bemused.

"The Zoroark's a problem. I worry it becomes smart enough to target us systematically. And if it gets to Amethyst…"

Laelaps chuffed. _You fancy yourself as a superhero now, don't you? 'I'm sorry, Mary-Jane, but if the Green Goblin found out about my relationship with you, they'll kidnap you?'_ The Lucario feigned pathos, the back of his paw dramatically on his forehead.

The Lucario tilted his head to the blonde trainer.

_Look at Stephanie Brown. You've read The Brown Effect, you know what's happened to her. That girl has been kidnapped, tortured, and been hurt more times than either of us could possibly want to imagine. She's still smiling._

_Amethyst is no pushover, you underestimate her ability to go through hell and come back._

Riley looked away, the shadow of his hat concealing his eyes.

_She's not a damsel in distress, Riley. And she loves you._

"I'm almost twice her age…" He repeated what he said on Iron Island, devoid of conviction. "It may not work out…"

_Do you honestly believe yourself as you say that?_ Laelaps looked annoyed. _The age difference isn't the problem. It used to be, of course, but what you have to deal with is the gap between the both of you right now. You pushed her away, and now she's afraid of coming back to you._

"It's not that simple," Riley muttered. "We may not see each other the same way…"

_Riley_, Laelaps sighed. _I'm sure, deep down, you know you both still do._

The Aura guardian thought to say something in reply, but couldn't form the words. As much as he wanted to argue, he realised Laelaps was right.

It took him a little longer before he realized Amethyst was talking to him.

"…_my first time being a master, so... I'd thought of teaching Ms. Brown all the possible attacks Rodent can do to lower the opponent's attack or increase his own defense, and after that I'll show her al the items she can use for the same functions. Does that seem like a good plan?"_

"Amethyst," He blinked, then softened. "Oh, Amethyst. It sounds perfect – although I would recommend you show her the items before your next fight. The poor girls seems quite…"

He paused, looking at Stephanie, who'd begun to curiously unscrew the cap of the Full Restore bottle.

"…at a loss… with all the strange items she's seeing now." He chuckled. "Not to mention a little absentminded to begin with."

**- J -**

"_When are you ever going to learn that I don't care if you're weak?"_

Amethyst raised an eyebrow.

"Rodent isn't weak, Ms. Brown." She said, gently. "Just keep in mind than Toge is way more experienced. "Toge's been battling for... eleven years now. No more mystery."

She felt somewhat guilty. Should she have let Stephanie win? No. That would have made the teen feel even worse.

"_Moreover_," Amethyst kept thinking. "_it will be better to battle again at the end of the training, so Ms. Brown will be able to use the items I'm going to lend her now._"

"And I know you haven't asked me," The young woman added. "but I think you and Rodent have a good communication. It's just that... well, maybe Rodent is quite and independent pokémon, after all? It happens with some humans, too. Even though they can be very close to their friends, some of them simply won't need anyone for certain things."

Amethyst smiled. She knew well... because she was that kind of person. Although Amethyst had some friends in each region, she always preferred to work alone when it came to important stuff. Maybe Rodent was the same?

"Oh, my-!" Amethyst screamed when Stephanie sprayed the potion into her eye. "Are you okay? Do you need help?"

Amethyst was awfully worried about the brown-eyed girl, but both the teen and her pokémon seemed good-natured about that. Rodent seemed to feel better thanks to Stephanie, and they managed to, finally, spray the potion in the correct way.

"_How cute._" Amethyst thought, giggling.

Maybe she was worrying too much...

"Oh, I bought it at a regular Pokémon Shop, of course." The chestnut-head explained. "I have all the badges from Johto, so they let me buy whatever I want; yes, this is a privilege you acquire when you get the eight badges from some region."

"And my brother has earned a lot of money from all his victories." Amethyst added. "He lends me some, hehe."

Of course, Riley wasn't going to answer her previous question, so Amethyst's attention was entirely Stephanie's again. However, the tiny woman gave them a sidelong glance, again. They were still muttering! Can you believe it? They seemed housewives!

Anyway, they weren't positioned as before, so it didn't seem to be such a huge secret, but still...

It took him a while to realize Amethyst's question, sure.

"_Oh, Amethyst. It sounds perfect – although I would recommend you show her the items before your next fight. The poor girls seems quite… at a loss… with all the strange items she's seeing now. Not to mention a little absentminded to begin with."_

"Okay, thank you!" Amethyst nodded, smiling.

She thought of turning to Stephanie and Rodent to start to explain them, but now that Riley and his Lucario had stopped murmuring, she approached the biped-dog pokémon.

"Hi, Laelaps!" She exclaimed happily, patting his head. "I hadn't seen you in the whole day, hehe! I hope you're alright!"

Amethyst knew that Laelaps wasn't the type that liked cuddling, but she simply couldn't resist. The purple-eyed woman turned back to the blondie and approached her and Rodent.

"Okay, Ms. Brown," She said, sitting next to the teen. "as I already told, you can only buy this type of powerful potions when you have all the badges. But don't worry! I'll lend all my full restores. I can always buy more, after all."

The woman handed the girl five full restores, hoping they would be enough.

"Now, onto items you can use in battle!" Amethyst announced, lively. "You saw me use that X-Speed item, didn't you? Well, the most popular item to rise your pokémon's defense is X-Defense. Just in case you're interested, there're also X-Attack, X-Accuracy, X-Special... Well, you get the point."

Amethyst took a X-Accuracy (the last one she had) out from her bag and handed it to Stephanie so she could see it carefully.

"You can buy these at any regular Shop." Amethyst explained. "They're pretty cheap. The only inconvenient is that they stop making effect when you switch pokémon... although you don't have to worry about that since you only have one pokémon."

The young woman looked for something inside her bag. Suddenly, she smiled and looked at Stephanie.

"You're lucky, ms. Brown!" She exclaimed. "I still have some Iron left!"

Amethyst took a pot with yellow cap and some vitamins inside.

"Each boll of these adds 10 Defense EVs to the pokémon." Amethyst explained, a boll between her fingers. "To put it simple, Iron increases your pokémon's defense. You're lucky because, not only you can only acquire it at the Department Store, but also they're incredibly expensive!"

She handed Stephanie the pot.

"These vitamins also make pokémon friendly." Amethyst added, smiling. "However, don't abuse it. One or two bolls should be enough for Rodent. Oh, by the way, Iron isn't like X-Defense, which only makes effect IN battle."

Amethyst took a list of items out from her bag and showed to Stephanie.

"Look," Amethyst pointed at two items. "those are the pink bow and the silk scarf, both boost the power of normal-type moves. They might interest you..."

"Now, onto berries!" Amethyst announced. "But, before we continue... Do you want to take some rest, Ms. Brown? I think you might need some time to process all the information I've just given to you..."


	14. CHAPTER 014: A mad Onix appeared!

- N - = Nicky's part

- J - = my part

**Chapter 014 - A mad Onix appeared!**

**- N -**

"You're kidding me," Brown gasped in awe and delight, "All the badges? That's amazing! You must be amazingly strong - Gold doesn't even have any."

It occurred to her that, when they'd first met, Brown had all-too-enthusiastically shown off her own badges. She only had two, and she hadn't won the Viridian Gym badge fairly – not when Green had let her win. Did Amy think she was showing off too much? She wondered. The older trainer could have easily rolled her eyes when she showed off the few badges she had, but didn't.

She had to respect that about her. Amy had patience when dealing with enthusiastic trainers like her. In spades.

She stroked her Raticate again, the little rat rumbling with pleasure. "Well, maybe it's alright if we let you use your own moves a little more," She told him. "Maybe being independent like Amy is isn't that bad. Who knows? You might surprise us. What other moves do you have anyway?"

The Raticate flicked his tail coyly. He wasn't about to tell her.

"Fine, be that way, you meanie," She ruffled his fur, eliciting a laugh from the pokemon.

While Laelaps himself disliked being patted, he tolerated Amy with fortitude. Riley watched, amazed.

"_I hadn't seen you in the whole day, hehe! I hope you're alright!"_

"He's never this docile," Riley whispered, smiling. "I believe he's missed you just as much as you have him."

The Lucario darted a glance back at his trainer, as if urging him to say more. When Riley kept his silence, arms still crossed on his chest, the bipedial dog grunted, annoyed. Eventually, Amy stopped her rhythmic stroking and turned back to Brown. Laelaps sighed, looking exasperatedly at his stubborn trainer. Great. He'd lost his chance.

"_But don't worry! I'll lend all my full restores. I can always buy more, after all."_

Brown pocketed the Full Restores gratefully, stuffing them into her bag alongside the many purple Potions she owned. An excited smile played across her face – those potions were incredibly powerful, and to think! She now owned, not one bottle, but five!

"Thank you so much, Miss Amy!" She beamed. She couldn't promise that five bottles would last her very long, but she was still excited at the prospect of using a potion that powerful. Maybe she could ask her parents to buy her some more when she finally ran out? But still… she wondered how expensive they were.

"I hope I'm not burning a hole into your wallet, Miss Amy," She rubbed the back of her head, embarrassed at how eager she was to receive a freebie. "This stuff can't be cheap."

_"Now, onto items you can use in battle!"_

Amy was lavishing even more on her, showing her what looked like purple salt-and-pepper shaker. It took her a moment before she recalled seeing Amy use a green one. She read the label enthusiastically:

"'Raises the Accuracy of a Pokémon currently in battle by 1 level…'" She read aloud and slowly. Rodent crawled onto her shoulder for a better view of the item. She scratched her chin dubiously. "I've never used anything like this before."

But the moment Amy drew out the bottle of Iron from her bag, Rodent snatched it into his paws without hesitation. Enthralled with the idea of finally getting some food, he attempted to unscrew the cap, only to turn bright red in the face with frustration.

"C'mon, give me that. You don't have thumbs." Brown laughed, taking the bottle from her Raticate and screwing off the bright yellow cap. Rodent grabbed the open bottle chugged down the pills with gusto. "Is he allowed to eat that much?" She looked worriedly at Amy. "I mean, if the effects don't wear off after battle, won't he get sick or something?"

She was thankful as Amy offered her a break. This definitely needed some time to sink in. She'd never seen so many different items before, and it'd take a while before she got used to the idea of using them.

"Thanks, Miss Amy," She muttered, relieved, "I could totally use a break..."

She leant down, and rested her backside on a rocky outcropping, drawing a long, tired breath – only to feel the seat beneath her rumble to life.

The bounder under her shifted, along with the one next to it, and the one after that; a long, seemingly endless chain of rocks that grounded and rattled against each other. The chain ended at a serpentine head, no less in size than a large bicycle.

The expression on the Onyx was unmistakable. Its eyes were blank, it's face was ruthless. Brown stared, transfixed, at the Brown Effect on the rock snake. Her throat felt dry.

"RRRRATICATE!" Rodent screamed, barrelling into the rock snake and bouncing off with a passive squeak. The attack didn't seem to do much damage.

"Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap," Brown picked up her Raticate in her arms, before grabbing a can of Repel from her bag. She sprayed the aerosol liberally at the Onyx, but, undeterred, the rock-type simply shook its head and roared powerfully into her face. Strands of saliva smacked her cheeks.

"The repels aren't' working!" Brown whimpered, turning to Amy. "Amy! What should I do?"

The Onyx reared back its head, then lunged in to snap at them…

A blue shield wound its way between the large rock-type and the frightened girl as Riley barrelled into her and knocked the out of the way.

"Stay down!" He commanded to the girl, now on the floor of the cave. "Laelaps, Metal Claw, now!"

Nodding, the Lucario unsheathed glowing white claws as the Aura shield dissipated. Laelaps leapt into the air, raking its claws into the Onyx's face as he descended.

On the floor, Brown snapped open her Pokedex. "Riley, that didn't do much – its level's too high!" She was scared now, her voice, she realised, was shaking. She was tempted to run, her running shoes would easily carry her away, but then again, she couldn't leave Amy and Riley behind.

"I vote we all run away!" She suggested.

"Don't be silly," Riley snapped, hurling a glowing blue orb like a baseball at the large snake. The Onyx bellowed, but seemed unscathed. "We can take it down… hopefully."

"Amy!" Brown called out, panicking, vaguely aware that she'd now achieved a new bruise along the side of her leg. "Amy! Whatdowedo? Whatdowedo? Whatdowedo?"

**- J -**

"_Thanks, Miss Amy. I could totally use a break..."_

Amethyst thanked Stephanie in her thoughts for that. She was pretty tired, too. It'd been ages since she had battled for the last time!

The purple-eyed woman sat down on the floor, sighing.

"Well, now..."

She didn't even have time to talk. A wild Onix appeared beneath the teenager. No. Not only a wild Onix.

A FURIOUS wild Onix!

"Oh, my Arceus!" Amethyst screamed, shocked. "Why on the Earth is it so angry?"

She noticed the wild Onix staring madly at Stephanie. Of course, Rodent tackling it didn't help...

"So this is the Brown Effect!" The young woman exclaimed. "Look out, Ms. Brown! Rodent!"

Amethyst called Toge back to his pokéball and tried to approach Stephanie, who was being roared at by the furious Onix.

"Ms. Br-!"

But Riley was faster and protected Stephanie with his power of Aura. Amethyst put her hand on her chest, relieved.

"Thanks goodnes..." She whispered. "Thank you, Riley!"

However, it wasn't time to feel relieved. That Onix seemed... oddly strong. Not even Laelap's metal claw could defeat it!

"That's impossible!" Amethyst screamed. "But Laelaps is almost unbeatable...!"

"_I vote we all run away!"_

"NO!" It was something both Amethyst and Riley agreed on. "Don't worry, Ms. Brown, and stay back!"

Amethyst hated fighting, but if it was to protect a friend... Moreover, all she had to do was knock that Onix out, and Amethyst had a clear type advantage...

"Go, Dew!"

The woman's Roserade faced the giant Onix.

"Bring it on! Magical leaf!" Amethyst ordered.

Dew attacked the Onix with a tornado of leaves that never missed their target. However, the taken damage was small. Onix attacked Dew with a slam attack using his powerful tail.

"Tssk... Dew, use giga drain!" Amethyst exclaimed, frowning.

The Onix was badly hurt, moreover, Dew took all her energy back thanks to that move. But the wild Onix was on a rampage... It didn't even matter that it was being attacked. It was simply... crazy.

"Oh, my!" Amethyst exclaimed. "It doesn't even seem to know what it's doing! Try to calm him using your sweet scent, Dew!"

But it didn't work. Moreover, Onix attacked Dew using dragonbreath, which made Dew get paralyzed.

"Oh, no!" The chestnut-head screamed; she still had the advantage, but she didn't want to risk too much. "Come back, Dew! Go, May!"

Amethyst sent out her female Mawile.

"Use iron head!"

May crashed her hard head onto Onix's body, which made him go even more mad. Amethyst noticed that the wild Onix was still trying to make his way to Stephanie, and only attacked May if she got in its way.

"So everything that matters is Ms. Brown, uuh?" Amethyst exclaimed, firmly. "Okay! I can't get in its way only with a tiny pokémon like May, so...!"

For everyone's surprise, Amethyst sent out her female, purple-eyed Dragonite. She obviously wanted to finish the battle quickly.

"May, use iron defense while Dragonite uses barrier!" Amethyst ordered. "Then, you two...!"

Something strange was happening to Dragonite. She trembled for a few seconds and then turned to Stephanie.

"Dragonite! You too?" Amethyst screamed, looking at Dragonite's furious eyes. "Come back!"

But she refused to get into the pokéball. Meanwhile, the poor May had to deal with the Onix alone. May was pretty experienced, but blocking an Onix's way wasn't an easy thing to do...

"Go!" Amethyst screamed, sending out Maki and Dew, again.

"I'm sorry, Dew, but try to immobilize Dragonite with your grass knot!" The woman ordered. "Maki, go...! Go help May!"

It took a while, but Dew managed to immobilize the angry Dragonite.

"Well done, Dew!" Amethyst said. "Come back you two!"

Okay, one problem less. But her most powerful pokémon, Dragonite, wasn't available. Amethyst bit her lip.

The mere fact of seeing two tiny pokémon like Mawile or Masquerain having to deal with a giant Onix broke her heart. What a disaster! What a shame! Amethyst was sure that Riley was thinking that she was a lame trainer!

"May, brick break!" She ordered. "Maki, ice beam!"

Had she taught Maki blizzard? No. Dragonite was the one who could do that move. Crap.

However, both pokémon's attacks were taking a lot of damage on the wild Onix, that was also furious because it couldn't reach Stephanie.

"But this is neverending!" Amethyst exclaimed. "No matter how much damage it's taken, its madness won't let it notice!"

Amethyst put her hands on her head, desperate. Running away? Yeah. That's what she USED to do when she couldn't face something. But NOT in front of Riley!

"I have an idea!" The purple-eyed woman exclaimed. "Maki, you only have one chance! Signal beam!"

Maki hit Onix's face with her multicolour beam. The damage wasn't huge, but...

...Onix started to knock its own head against the cave walls.

"Yay! It's confused!" Amethyst exclaimed. "It will knock itself out in no time...!"

But she hadn't figured that the cave would start to tumble down because of the knocking.

A few rocks fell down from the ceiling of the cave.

"Riley! Ms. Brown!" Amethyst exclaimed, in panic. "Get out of here! NOW!"

Amethyst took her pokémon back into their pokéballs, which caused a rock almost squash her.

"Eek!" She shrieked, starting to run.

Suddenly, the exit of the cave seemed so faraway... To make matters worse, Amethyst tripped and fell. She tried to stand up, but she couldn't... And there was no time to call Dew out to heal her!

Amethyst noticed the blond teenager looking at her.

"Run, Ms. Brown! Don't worry about me!"

**- N -**

_Keep calm, carry on…_

…_And try not to soil your pants._

_Gold! I'm trying to teach her something!_

_You're way too serious, you know that, honey? Such a super-serious gal…_

…

Brown tried not to cry. She repeated Crystal's voice over and over in her head, like a mantra, a recorder stuck on its last tape, never stopping. Keep calm, carry on. Keep calm, carry on. Keep calm-

She'd never been so scared in her life.

Sure, her life had been in peril before, but never anything she couldn't run away from. Now, she was petrified as the cave rumbled downwards upon them – she could escape just fine with her Running Shoes, but what about Amy? Or Riley?

"Stay down, Miss Brown," Riley called. "We'll take care of this."

His Lucario conjured up a large glowing blue ball, tossing the Aura Sphere at the Onix, as Riley did the same. Just seconds before, Amy had sent out her Dragonite, which soon fell to the Brown Effect – its levels was probably very high. While her other pokemon had succeeded in subduing it, the Onix had left Dew the Roserade paralysed.

The Lucario dashed in front of Amy's Mawile, knocking away a boulder a hair's breadth away from falling upon it. Brown's Pokedex registered the move as Force Palm. Laelaps looked at the Mawile, as if checking to see if it was alright, before tossing another Aura Sphere at the Onyx.

"It's alright, Stephanie – it only wants you – just stay down and we'll handle it," Riley managed, hurling more baseball-sized Aura Spheres at the Onix.

Brown didn't have time to agree with him – she pulled herself to her feet, Rodent right behind her, as a boulder crashed into the ground inches from where she'd been lying down. BOOOM. So much for staying down.

"On second thought, let's run like cowards and flail our arms wildly until we're out of this hellhole!" She suggested. Rodent shook his head.

"Raticate!" He cried out, setting himself on fire and Flame Wheeling himself at the Onix another time, just as the ceiling began to give way even more. Amethyst looked visibly worried.

_"Riley! Ms. Brown! Get out of here! NOW!"_

Brown didn't need to be told twice. She clicked her heels together to turn her shoes on, and began to run.

Keep calm, carry on.

More rocks began to fall – first the size of large fists, then the recliners, sofas, and trucks. Brown zoomed between them as they whistled to the ground, frightened tears streaming from her face.

Keep calm, carry on.

And try not to soil your pants.

The sound of someone falling against the cavern floor was almost drowned out by the slam slam slam of rocks pounding on the ground. Brown recognised the noise, though – Amy had tripped. She pulled herself around to face her, panic rising in her chest.

_"Run, Ms. Brown! Don't worry about me!"_

She couldn't move, her feet were rooted on the ground, torn between escape the pressing urge to help a friend. The cavern around her continued to collapse, but she'd been too busy stammering incoherently with her mouth open to do anything about it.

Riley watched the boulders fall around him, but kept himself focused on his goal – taking down the Onix, throwing Aura Sphere after Sphere at the behemoth. That is, until he heard the sound of Amethyst fall on the ground.

He hurried to her, just as she commanded the blonde trainer to flee. The ceiling was much too unstable – it would all come down any second.

Without thinking, he threw himself upon her, shielding her with his back, her small little body pressed tight against his chest. He squeezed his eyes tight, focusing hard on materialising a shield as the last vestiges of whatever held the ceiling in place finally gave way.

Laelaps tackled Brown out of the cavern's opening as the last of the boulders obscured the entrance. All she could hear was the neverending crash of boulders upon boulders echoing in the tiny mine, until there was nothing left but the patter of tiny rocks as the rocks settled.

The smashing, endless and brutal, of rocks against rocks, filled his ears. It sounded like the end of the world, of every wave in the sea brutally striking them both, of every loud noise he could imagine, amplified, booming, in his ears… until, finally, mercifully, it ended.

Riley cracked his eyes open, the blue glow of his Aura was all he saw at first. The blue dome above them both was covered entirely with rocky debris. There were rocks all around them, on top of them, pressing down hard on the shield. The only light Riley had was the glowing blue of his own Aura. In the unearthly blue light, Amethyst seemed like an angel, so strong, yet fleetingly fragile. He cradled her body in his arms, brushing a stray strand of hair off her forehead.

The rocks shifted, pressing even harder on his shield. One of Riley's hands instinctively grabbed his head in pain. He hissed from the effort that it took to hold up the shield.

"Are you alright, Amethyst?" He murmured, trying his best not to make his voice sound strained from the effort it took to keep the rocks off them. "I can't keep this up much longer…"

A scuffling sound above his head. Riley looked up, as a boulder was grabbed by tiny hands and thrown far away. The hands repeated the action, lightening the load on the shield steadily, until a whiskered brown face came into view.

"Rrrraticate?" Rodent blinked at them both, a boulder held aloft above his head with Strength. He had clearly been looking for his trainer.

"Stephanie's not here," Riley regrettably mumbled, but the brown rat worked regardless, trying his best to clear the boulders off the shield. "Are you… still helping us?"

"Raticate," Rodent shrugged, and continued to lift more boulders. His air of nonchalance, however, did nothing to hide his worry.

"Don't worry," he soothed. "Laelaps was with her. Miss Brown should be fine."

He turned his attention back to the woman he held. "Rodent's going to help dig us out, Amethyst. In the meantime, are you hurt? Your pokemon, will they be alright?"

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

The ceiling outside the cavern had been supported by stilts ages ago – firm, comforting, and strong. There were no boulders to worry about in the corridors, but Brown kept her brow furrowed.

Laelaps watched her, his tail flicking back and forth.

Brown kept the headlight on her hard-hat on as she paced. Rodent was gone. So were Amy and Riley. Were they even alive anymore?

The notebook and the clipping came to mind – the dead pokemon looking at the camera with its blank, soulless eyes… Were they all as dead as that pokemon?

No, Steffie. You can't think about that. Be positive, they can't be dead!

She tried to laugh, to lighten the mood, but the sound came out like a bestial growl. It jumped off the ceilings and echoed back at her, sounding for all the world as if something was chuckling at her from the shadows.

_Creepy… _Brown thought.

"Hellow?" She cupped her hands around her mouth, trying to let her voice carry. "Is anyone there? Any miners? Uh… We have a problem, and I need assistance…"

She opened the notebook, remembering something she remembered on the last page. In bright pink handwriting, Serena had written down:

EMERGENCY NUMBERS

999 – Pokemon Center

911 – Police

+878 – Roark

She flipped open her pokegear, only to find no bars at all in her phone's reception. Drat.

"Anyone? Please, I need help. I don't know what to do," She whimpered, her voice caught in her throat, which was rapidly getting salty from the mucus and tears.

"Roark?" She called. "Anybody?"

Laelaps looked at her, unflinchingly bored, like a statute. The Brown Effect wasn't angering him, but it made most pokemon ignore her if they weren't seeing red at her.

She sniffled back water in her nose.

"Please?"


	15. CHAPTER 015: Awkwardness

- N - = Nicky's part

- J - = my part

**Chapter 015 - Awkwardness**

**- J -**

"Forget about the Onix!" Amethyst screamed, seeing that Stephanie and even Riley kept facing the wild pokémon when the cave was collapsing. "RUN!"

She wanted to run away desperately as well, but she had to get her pokémon back to their pokéballs first.

After avoiding a falling rock, Amethyst had tripped because of some random, smaller rock. Her purple eyes looked directly into Stephanie's brown eyes, who didn't seem to be capable of running away while she looked at the woman.

"_Run... dammit..._" Amethyst thought, gritting her teeth in pain.

Her left ankle hurt too much... But there was no time...

Suddenly, she saw Laelaps tackling the scared teen and taking her with him throughout the cave corridor...

"_At least she'll be saf-_"

Just a second after losing sight of Laelaps, Amethyst felt something shielding her. Before closing her eyes, she was able to see a pair of arms covered by blue sleeves and gloved hands around her, pressing against the ground.

"_Riley...?_"

The horrible sound of the rocks crashing against each other didn't even let her hear her own thoughts! Amethyst tightened her eyes, scared. But she knew, somewhat, that everything was going to be okay...

...because she felt Riley's warm body against her, protecting her, and the power of Aura protecting them both. That's it, she trusted Riley.

Amethyst clinged to that thought and stayed like that until the awful noise of the smashing rocks ended. And she was alive! Her ankle still hurt, but she would fix that later... The purple-eyed woman wasn't sure if she was still able to hear, though.

But she heard Riley coughing a little. Fine, she wasn't deaf.

Suddenly, Amethyst felt as if someone was cradling her... and brushing her chestnut (now dirty) hair off her forehead. She blushed. Did Riley think that she was asleep...?

It was a warm moment, very romantic too... but that wasn't the perfect place. It wasn't the perfect moment, either...

"_Are you alright, Amethyst? I can't keep this up much longer…"_

Little by little, Amethyst opened her purple eyes and looked softly at Riley. There he was, protecting her with his life, only that...

"Ri-Riley..." Amethyst muttered. "I-I..."

...he was at his last. His arms trembling because of the effort it was taking to keep the Aura shield up.

Although she knew it wasn't going to help, Amethyst pressed her hands against Riley's chest, her eyes teary, preventing him to not collapse...

Thanks goodness Rodent saved them! Amethyst was speechless, she couldn't find words to thank the little rat... well, that and that she was too tired even to talk...

For some odd reason, though, she didn't feel bad. Riley was with her... and Stephanie was with Laelaps, so she HAD to be alright! All they had to care about was digging to get out from the cave...

"_...Amethyst. In the meantime, are you hurt? Your pokemon, will they be alright?"_

"I-I'm fine, Riley..." Amethyst said, softly; she coughed. "My ankle hurts, but don't worry, Dew will heal me now..."

She wanted to praise him for being so courageous, so maybe she could liven his tired expression, but that wasn't the moment...

...Instead, the tiny woman took off some dirt and dust from Riley's nose and left cheek.

"You had... something on your face, hehe." Amethyst giggled. "Mmh, Riley... could you put me down, please? I'll be okay..."

Once on the ground, Amethyst looked for Dew's pokéball in her bag. First, she found a parlyz heal.

"Oh, no...!" She exclaimed, disappointed. "I've had this parlyz heal with me all this time! If I had known, I would have healed Dew before and this mess wouldn't have been necessary!"

"I fail so badly as a trainer...!" Amethyst screamed, clearly mad at herself.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

"_Roark? Anybody? ...Please?"_

"Stephanie Brown?"

Roark made his way troughout the cave until he found Stephanie... with Laelaps? And a collapsed corridor next to them?

"Stephanie!" Roark exclaimed. "Just what in the world has happened? What did you do to my mines?"

Then, he noticed multiple scratches and wounds on the teen's face and legs. But Rodent wasn't with her! Instead, Laelaps was!

"Stephanie?" The miner asked, looking at her closely. "You...! You're hurt! Oh, my Arceus!"

He took hastily some strips and bandages from a small case in his pocket. They were in a mess, but they were better than nothing...

"This will do for now." Roark said, bandaging the girl carefully. "I'm working on a very important project, but all the screams and clamors from this cave attracted my attention..."

The important project he was working on would have to wait, he was afraid. His friend's/guests' lives were more important!

"Say... What's happened, Stephanie?" Roark asked, nervous. "Why is... Laelaps with you, but not your Raticate? Where's Riley? And Amethyst? Are they... inside that cave?"

Roark bit his lip. Riley was a strong fellow, and if Amethyst was with him, he wouldn't have to worry about any of them, but... still...

"Go, Rampardos!" The ginger exclaimed, sending his pokémon out. "Use head smash to destroy the biggest boulders and then use dig and start making your way throughout the corridor!"

**- N -**

And the cavalry arrived.

_"Stephanie Brown?"_

Brown gasped in delight at the sight of another headlight flickering its way down the corridor. She barely noticed that she was blubbering incoherently as the Oreburgh Gym Leader came into view.

_"Just what in the world has happened? What did you do to my mines?"_

"I – the walls, they – I mean it – uh – buh…" She stammered disjointedly in shock. Finally realising she wasn't making much sense, she kicked the wall in frustration. "ARGH!

"– cheesebuckets." She swore.

Roark seemed to figure out the problem on his own, coming close to wrap her arm in a makeshift bandage. She didn't question what a first-aid kit was doing underground – she supposed accidents were common in the mines.

She looked at Roark in the light from her hardhat – he had a couple scratches himself. They were much too light for her to notice the night before, but they were there. For the briefest of moments, Brown though they looked oddly like claw marks.

"Ah-a-accidents happen often around here?" She was glad to finally form a sentence. She tried to laugh again, but ended up coughing on her own saliva. So much for that. "You look kinda banged up too."

She peeled one loose bandage off her arm, and blew her nose into it – giving off a liberal wet honking noise which amplified itself on the cavern walls. She looked up again, noticing the worried expression on Roark's face.

_"Why is... Laelaps with you, but not your Raticate? Where's Riley? And Amethyst? Are they... inside that cave?"_

She swallowed hard, hoping she had enough in her to tell him the whole story: "We were training and then I sat on an Onix and it wanted to kick my ass and then Amy got it confused and it started to knock down the ceiling and everything started falling – boom boom crash! – and then Laelaps took me out and Riley and Amy are still inside and so's Rodent and I'm really really really scared because they could be dead and this is all my stupid fault and I promise I'll bring my own chairs the next time I come in here I swear I will!"

She grabbed his shirt in desperation, bringing her face dangerously close to his: "Please, Mister Roark Mister Gym Leader Sir, you gotta help get my friends outta there! What if the beast gets them? I don't want them to get eated!"

Up close, she supposed, she looked batshit insane. Her eyes were puffy, her hair was ragged, snot was trailing down either side of her mouth. But she didn't quite care. All she knew was that someone had finally come to save them all, and that was all she needed.

Roark was biting his lip, looking worried and vulnerable, but at the same time rugged and resolute. For the briefest of moments, Brown began to understand why Serena enjoyed living with him so much.

As he sent out his Rampardos, Stephanie slumped down against the ground, pulling her legs to her chest. She wasn't so sure she'd enjoy what she'd see on the other side of those boulders; Images of Amy-and-Riley-shaped pancakes or Rodent smooshed open like a grape played in her mind, either that, or Serena's mysterious black beast feasting on their entrails. She wasn't so sure which was worse.

"I'm sorry we did this to your mine, Roark," She mumbled, remembering Riley mentioning how Roark's family owned the mine – part of which they'd just ruined. "We didn't mean to, we were just trying to train Rodent and then things got out of hand…"

The Lucario looked at her from a corner of his eye, a mixture of disdain and curiosity on his noble features.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Riley tried to stop himself from blushing as Amy's fingers caressed his face. He wasn't so sure it worked. He opened his mouth in a bid to ask her what she was doing, an expression of not-alltogether-unpleasant surprise playing on his face.

_"You had... something on your face, hehe."_

Oh. Oh, that.

"_Mmh, Riley... could you put me down, please? I'll be okay..."_

Right. He felt his cheeks grow warm, but he lowered her to the ground regardless. Rodent had finished with the last of the boulders, allowing him to finally do away with the shield. Tiny bits of sand rained down on his head, which he removed his hat to brush off.

"Riii?" The Raticate tilted his head to a side, as if asking if they were alright.

"We're fine, Rodent," He murmured, scratching the normal-type between his ears in the same way he'd seen Brown do. "Though I can't say the same for that Onix," He looked to the area where the Onix had been standing not fifteen minutes before – there was something cathartic about seeing the large snake fainted.

_"Oh, no...!"_

He turned around, surprised to see Amethyst on her feet as well. Laelaps had been right – she was much stronger than he gave her credit for. However, there wasn't strength on her face, just annoyance.

_"I've had this parlyz heal with me all this time! If I had known, I would have healed Dew before and this mess wouldn't have been necessary! I fail so badly as a trainer...!"_

Riley stared for a moment at her outburst – he'd never seen her quite so raw and emotional.

"Amethyst?" He planted both his hand firmly on her arms, "Amethyst, look at me. Amethyst – you've just survived a rockslide that would make any lesser human being beg for mercy and cry in terror – you handled your team with diligence and strength while facing one of the strongest Onixes I've yet seen – you are…" He swallowed.

"You are the strongest, most capable woman I know. And I don't want you to ever forget that."

Without remembering to put his hat on, without remembering how far they'd drifted apart, without even trying to remember where they were, he pulled her against his chest. Quietly, he breathed in the smell of her hair, lavender? Or lilac? Something purple and gentle just under his nose. He felt her heart beat against him, the compact firmness of her body, shaking, fragile yet firm, in his arms.

After what seemed like mere seconds, or hours, or a million lilac-scented days, he whispered to the air on top her head:

"Amethyst, I'm sorry. I should never have left you." He felt raw, tender, as if he was digging his heart out. It felt liberating.

"Will you-"

BOOM.

"OMIARCEUS YOU GUYS! I THOUGHT YOU DIED!"

Stephanie Brown stuck her head into freshly-pounded hole by the entrance, just behind the Rampardos that had dug it up. Delighted, Rodent shrilled and bounded into his trainer's arms, earning him a round of kisses and blubbered "I love you"s as the pair sunk to the floor in relief and ecstasy.

"Rampardos?" Riley stared at the hulking fossil pokemon. "That means… Roark? Are you here?"

He loosened his hold on the woman in his arms, allowing Amethyst to break free if she wanted to, but he refrained from stepping back himself.

"This… this is awkward," He mumbled, returning his hat to his head.

Roark tried to stay calm as he bandaged the nervous teen. He was a man of manners, after all, and never let panic get him, unlike his roomate.

"Well, yeah, we're used to accidents here." The ginger said. "Being a miner has its risks... but this mines are strong enough, after all. I don't know how would that cave collapse, really..."

**- J -**

The man listened to Stephanie's story, perplexed. Why would a wild Onix get so mad at a human? Maybe that was the Brown Effect Serena and Riley had been talking about?

Roark didn't have time to think as Stephanie grabbed his shirt. Whoa, she sure was upset! He thought, flickering repeatedly.

"Don't worry, Stephanie." The man said, as he sent out his Rampardos. "Everything's going to be alright... And don't worry! This is just a small part of the whole mine! And the fact hat it's gone down doesn't mean we can't restore it!"

"Keep going deeper, Rampardos!" Roark ordered.

Rampardos had turned the huge boulders into tiny rocks that he could easily destroy with his hard head, making his own way throughtout the debris.

A few minutes later, Rampardos stopped, turned his head to his trainer and snarled at him.

"Ah! Stand up, Stephanie!" Roark exclaimed, cheered. "We're close!"

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Meanwhile, Amethyst was healing her ankle with Dew's help. The purple-eyed woman had cured Dew's paralysis and then Dew had calmed the pain on her ankle with her aromatherapy. Rodent kept digging and Riley was taking dust off his hat.

However, Amethyst just wouldn't stop muttering angrily about how much she hated her trainer skills. Then again, she had never liked battling, but that didn't mean she wanted to be a lame trainer!

"No, leave me alone." Amethyst grumbled at Riley took her for her arms; she was too embarrassed to look at his eyes. "And I've only survived because YOU have protected me! There's nothing t-!"

"_You are the strongest, most capable woman I know. And I don't want you to ever forget that."_

Amethyst went out of words. What had she just heard? She didn't even have time to process the meaning contained in those words. Because...

Riley, the man she had loved those last eight years, was hugging her. It was sudden, but still lovely... She noticed him breathing into her hair... But how could he? She was covered in dust! Amethyst's mind was blank...

"_Amethyst, I'm sorry. I should never have left you."_

Those whispers drove her practically crazy; she felt her face and ears turn bright red as her body grew warmer. Amethyst opened her mouth, but no sound came out from it. She felt so stupid! But she wasn't simply able to talk.

But then...

"_OMIARCEUS YOU GUYS! I THOUGHT YOU DIED!"_

Amethyst turned her head quickly. Roark and his Rampardos had just made a huge hole in the debris and had finally made their way to them. Stephanie and Rodent were already hugging and dancing in joy.

The chestnut-head let go off Riley's arms as soon as he loosened his hold. Not because she wasn't comfortable, but because...

"Stephanie!" Amethyst squealed, her eyes teary. "I mean... Ms. Brown! You're alright!"

...She felt so glad to see the teen was fine. Amethyst never doubted it, but anything could have happened, after all.

"Oh, my...!" Amethyst kept exclaiming; she brushed Stephanie's hair, happily. "You know what? Rodent's been very brave! He saved us, both me and Riley! I'm so proud...!"

Amethyst hugged Rodent, too, and planted a small kiss on his forehead before giving him back to Stephanie.

"Phew..." Roark said, wiping sweat from his forehead. "I'm glad we made it... It's nice to see you're okay."

"Oh, Roark, thanks a lot for coming to save us." Amethyst said, bowing politely. "It could have taken us ages to get out from here, even with my Dragonite... She isn't used to dig amongst huge boulders, after all."

"It's nothing." Roark said, smiling. "Stephanie's screams leaded me here, so... And she told me what happened! I'm surprised to see you don't have any scratch on you, Amethyst."

"Oh." Amethyst said, blushing again. "Well... Riley shielded me..."

"Is that so?" Roark asked, joyful; he looked at his friend and approached him. "That's great! I knew Amethyst would be alright with you, Riley! I'm glad you protected her, you're awesome!"

To Roark, Riley had always been some kind of super trainer. When he was a kid, he had Riley as a model. Moreover, his father, Byron, always taked very well about him, so that had to mean Riley was a strong fellow! That's it, Roark had always looked up at him...

"Great work, my friend." Roark said, putting his hand on Riley's left shoulder. "I'll tell Serena to cook a special meal for you! You really deserve it!"

Amethyst smiled, but then heard Stephanie coughing.

"Mmh, I think we should breathe some... fresh air." The young woman said.

"You're right." Roark said, looking at her. "Come on, let's get out from here."

Roark leaded them outside the mine. Once outside, Amethyst stretched and breathed deeply. Although they were still in middle of coal and slag, she felt as if she was at the field.

"Aaah! This feels so good!" She exclaimed, relieved; she turned to the group. "Mmh, are any of you hurt? I can tell my Roserade to heal you..."

"I'm fine." Roark said, smiling at the caring woman. "And I've already put some bandages on Stephanie, but maybe your could calm her pain with your pokémon's help..."


	16. CHAPTER 016: Fear

- N - = Nicky's part

- J - = my part

**Chapter 016 - Fear**

**- N -**

_"I mean... Ms. Brown! You're alright!"_

"Of course I'm alright!" Brown ran up to the purple-eyed woman, throwing her arms around her. "I was so worried about you guys! It's much safer outside, I was fine, but all the while I thought you were all smooshed!"

She giggled as Amy brushed her hair. It felt affirming, real, like proof that everything was going to be alright. As Amy explained how brave, Rodent had been, Brown couldn't help but smile. Rodent had been the kindest little pokemon she'd ever had the luck to take care of – she knew that enough – but it felt different when coming from someone else.

Rodent puffed out his chest proudly, but squirmed as Amy pulled him to a kiss. Out of manly pride, the Raticate rubbed at his forehead gruffly, but his rapidly reddening face betrayed how pleased he was to be complemented.

"C'mon, you big hero," Brown ruffled the fur on top of his head, a gesture that made the Raticate redden further. Gingerly, she twisted her back to let him climb it. "I'll let you sit on my shoulders-"

She broke out in a fit of coughing, shaking Rodent off her and earning Amy's alarm.

_"Mmh, I think we should breathe some... fresh air."_

She nodded as Roark agreed to the suggestion, waving her hand in front of her face as if to scare the dust away. "Never (cough) realised how dusty (cough) it was inside here,"

Once outside, she checked several boulders, making sure none of them were alive, before resting herself against one. Rodent padded to her feet and laid a tiny paw on her knee.

"I'm okay," She managed, before hacking one last final series of coughs. She shook her head as Amy's Roserade offered her help again.

"No thanks," Brown cleared her throat. "I'm good now,"

"Are you certain, Stephanie?" Riley crossed his arms. "We're still going to try training you for tonight's battle, but if you're not fit you should tell us. We could always postpone it - no sense in putting any unnecessary pressure on you."

"It's just some dust," Brown cleared her throat again, sounding much better this time. "I can take it."

Laelaps walked to stand behind his trainer, as Riley looked somewhat unconvinced. "Are you absolutely sure?"

"I can take it!"

Riley nodded. "Alright, then."

He turned to the redheaded Gym Leader, "Maybe you can help, Roark," He explained, "I'm looking for a certain cave in particular. I think I saw it in a vision – its roughly the size of an animal cage, big enough for a Luxio to pace in, and big enough for the girls to have another round of battling; it's definitely more sturdy than the cavern we had just now, I remember seeing claw marks on the walls, so the cave should be able to take some beating."

He searched Roark's expression for a clue, a tiny slip to give away what Serena was hiding. If Roark was living with the Joy, he might've known her plans. But it was hard to see anyone else's expression in the dim corridor light. He relaxed, trying not to look like an interviewer. As much as he wanted to find out more, he didn't want to upset the Gym Leader – not when Roark held him in such high regard. Not to mention how Roark was hosting him.

However, despite his efforts to keep things cordial, Laelaps sniffed the air and emitted a low growl. The Lucario turned to the Gym Leader, his eyes steely and convinced, his lips parted in a snarl.

"Laelaps, stand down," Riley put a warming hand on the bipedial dog's shoulders. By now, even Stephanie had started staring at the Lucario growling at the ginger.

"I said: _stand down_." Riley repeated. Reluctantly, the Lucario took a step backwards and was silent. His eyes, however, still glowered with disdain.

Riley looked oddly at his pokemon, "I apologize," he murmured, his voice a blend of regret and curiosity. "Laelaps is never this hostile – I don't understand, especially since he's known you for years."

"I don't think it's Roark," Brown said. "I bet it's the beast – Laelaps must've smelled him coming from there," She gestured vaguely to the direction down the corridor Roark had his back to.

"Think we should keep moving?" Her voice was fearful. "I… I don't want to fight another Onix, especially not one that eats pokemon."

"Eating pokemon?" Riley turned around to face the blonde. "Where did you find out about that?"

Stephanie pulled the clipping out from her jacket, brandishing it. "I found it," She explained. "They say there was a monster living in the mines and that it ate a pokemon."

Riley took the piece of paper from her, making no indication on how familiar it was to him. He'd seen it almost every night of his investigation. He knew the story – he just never expected it to land in the hands of Stephanie, especially not when she was so close to Amethyst…

"I think it's best if I keep this," he whispered, bending down to look the girl in the eye. "There's no need to get worried, Miss Brown. This is all superstition and untrue until proven so."

Slowly, he stood up, turning to look at the purple-eyed trainer. "What do you think, Amethyst?"

**- J -**

Roark was staring at Riley as he talked to the teen. Despite offering a good meal and complimenting him for his great work saving Amethyst, the blue-haired man hadn't spoken to him yet...

...Then again, they had found him hugging the tiny woman when they entered the cave. Maybe he was mad at them or something. Well, definitely, not at Stephanie.

"_Maybe you can help, Roark,"_

The ginger's thoughts were interrupted by Riley's words. Right, he was talking to him.

"Y-yeah!" Roark exclaimed lively, although he didn't know what his friend was going to ask. "What is it?"

Roark's eyes widened as Riley described the cave. _The size of an animal cage... claw marks on the walls..._ Roark tried not to make his change of expression very obvious. Then again, the environment helped him.

Maybe he was talking about the cave where Serena used to take him to in the full moon nights. No, it HAD to be that cave, definitely. But how did he find...? And why had he seen that cave in his visions?

"Mmh, yeah." Roark muttered, realizing that it was taking him too much time to reply. "I think I know which cave are you referring to."

Nah, it had to be a coincidence. Riley was right: it was a perfect cavern for battles. Maybe he had seen it in his vision just because he was looking for a good place to train! And the Aura Guardian's words sounded as nice, friendly as always.

Amethyst was like in a daze, still thinking about how Riley had hugged her just some minutes before. She hadn't noticed Roark's nervousness despite being the nearest to him.

However, she did notice how Laelaps had started to act hostile towards Roark. What was him sniffing? And why the angry face?

"Laelaps?" Amethyst asked, surprised.

"Rose?" Dew asked, too, kind of worried.

They hadn't seen Laelaps that angry since... since those cue balls kidnapped the baby Riolu at Iron Island. Amethyst, being near Roark, couldn't help but feel a bit scared.

"Eeh... What's wrong...?" She asked, a hand on her chest.

"E-eh? Umh..." Roark stuttered, nervous.

The miner, however, didn't step back. He didn't know what Riley knew... but he didn't want to give him more hints, so he tried to stay cool.

After several, tense seconds, the bipedial dog remained calmed and stepped back. Riley apologized and a nervous, silly laugh came out from Roark's mouth.

"Hehe! Don't worry, Riley!" He exclaimed, trying to sound casual. "Maybe he's still upset for all that's happened this last hour! You guys sure'd had a tough tim-!"

"_I don't think it's Roark, I bet it's the beast."_

Roark turned his head quickly to the blondie, pretty sure that she was referring to the Zoroark that'd been supposed to be seen near Oreburgh. Great. Why did Riley have to talk about that last night?

"The... The beast?" Roark repeated, his throat dried. "Oh, you're referring to the pokémon Riley talked about last night? Do you really believe in that?"

Well, it didn't have to be very tough to fool a teenager, he thought.

Amethyst was starting to notice the tense air between Riley and Roark. Her purple eyes rested on Roark, then went to Riley and then went back to Roark. She didn't understand anything...

...And just when she had forgotten about 'the beast', Stephanie'd had to talk about it! Amethyst did nothing to hide her annoyance.

"_I… I don't want to fight another Onix, especially not one that eats pokemon."_

OH. NO. Roark was about to put his hands on his head, desperate, but he controlled himself. All he had to do is acting worried, as they were doing... But how had the teen found about that, anyway?

"Rade! Rose! Roserade!" Dew exclaimed, in panic.

"Ms. Brown, please... Don't talk about such things..."Amethyst begged, taking Dew back to her pokéball. "At least not at these situations..."

She looked carefully how Stephanie handed Riley the clipping. Amethyst thought of reading Riley's expression when seeing the clipping, but he was just back to her, so she couldn't see his face. Too bad.

She would have to rely on Stephanie's words later...

The chestnut-head noticed the man near her slightly shaking. Maybe in fear?

"_B-but but why...?_" Roark was thinking, looking at his friend and the blondie. "_And how...? Well, that clipping isn't definitely Steph's... Maybe Riley's? No, his expression hasn't changed, mmh... Serena's?_"

He looked at Amethyst, trying to read her expression as well. He flinched as he found her staring at him.

"What's the matter?" Amethyst asked, innocently.

"N-nothing." Roark said, realizing that the woman was too good-natured to be trying something against him.

"Are you worried about the beast, too?" Amethyst asked, flickering quickly.

"Eh? No..." Roark replied. "I'm sure it's a mad Luxray. Didn't you hear Serena? Zoroark are Unovvian pokémon."

"..."

Then, Riley turned to them both. He was patting his pocket, so Amethyst figured that he had kept the clipping.

"_What do you think, Amethyst?"_

"Wh-why are you asking me?" Amethyst asked, blushing; but she didn't want to ruin everything after the hug from before.

"Mmmh, I believed Serena's words last night." The small woman said. "I don't think there's a beast, and even if there were..."

Amethyst turned to Stephanie.

"...it's still 11am, so I doubt the presumptive 'beast' would appear now." She added, warmly.

She turned hed head back to Riley, smiling at him.

"And haven't you just told Ms. Brown that everything is "superstition and untrue until proven so"?" Amethyst asked him. "I think there's nothing to worry about. Well, other than Ms. Brown's training!"

Her purple eyes rested inquisitively on Stephanie and Rodent, and Roark thought that was his perfect chance.

"All right!" He exclaimed. "Enough tittle-tattle! I'm working on an important project, remember? I can't stay here chatting with you guys!"

With his air of 'liable man' back, Roark felt relieved. He took the group out from the cave corridors.

"Well, Riley," Roark said, approaching the older man. "I have to go to work, so I'll give you the indications to get to that cave."

"Just keep going straight and, when you're at that mountain of slag, turn to the left and keep going. You'll find some stairs. Well, go downstairs and in a few minutes you should be at that cave. It's basically the farthest, deepest mine here."

"Oh, thank you very much, Roark." Amethyst said, approaching both men.

"Mmh, it's nothing." Roark said. "Riley will take you both there. I must go. See you!"

**- N -**

The sudden change in the atmosphere was prodigious – Brown knew she'd said something wrong. Maybe talking about the beast was an Oreburgh taboo. The hair at her nape stood on end, maybe playing detective wasn't such a great idea.

Amethyst, for one, didn't seem too pleased to bring up the beast again, especially since it spooked her Roserade.

"I'm sorry," She murmured. She kicked herself mentally – hadn't she stepped on enough metaphorical toes in one morning? Quietly, she prayed that Amy wasn't too mad about it.

_"I don't think there's a beast, and even if there were, it's still 11am, so I doubt the presumptive 'beast' would appear now."_

"You're probably right," Brown attempted to chuckle, but choked on her laughter and coughed raspily instead. "There's no need to worry. Absolutely no need at all-"

By her leg, Rodent was shivering.

"Oh, come on you softie," She picked him up and placed the fluffy rat pokemon on her lap. In a show of bravado, she tried to make her voice sound less scared than it actually was. "You're not afraid too, are you?"

Riley noticed the exchange, turning, he addressed them: "Does Rodent taste like venison, or beef, or anything that remotely resembles livestock?"

"Probably not," Brown scrunched up her face, thinking. "How DO you taste like, anyway, Rodent?"

Experimentally, the Raticate sucked on his fist, then pulled it out of his mouth and made a face. "Riii." Rodent said, clearly not liking what he'd tasted.

"I rest my case," Riley said reassuringly. "If an animal like that were after us, it wouldn't have much of a taste for Raticate, Stephanie."

_I'm more worried it has a taste for humans_, He thought, worried.

Stephanie was stroking her Raticate. Rodent's fur, bristling like a frightened cat, was starting to lie flat again. Just when she thought everything would be alright:

_"All right! Enough tittle-tattle! I'm working on an important project, remember? I can't stay here chatting with you guys!"_

She hoped she hadn't chased him away. Guilt tugged at her while Roark began to direct Riley to the cave.

Eventually, it became evident he was about to leave. Brown waved vaguely at him. "Thanks," She muttered to the Gym Leader as the darkness of the corridor swallowed him whole. Without the light of one more hardhat, the hallways seemed so much darker.

Riley rubbed his hands together, creating a light blue Aura sphere that added slightly to the glow.

"We should be going," He said, leading the way. "Amethyst, it seems your light's a little dim" he pointed at the hardhat on the older trainer's head, which had been damaged by the rockfall. "You can walk with me, as a precaution. I don't want to lose anyone as we walk," He turned to the rest of the group, taking in Stephanie and her Raticate.

"Are we clear on that?"

"Transparently," Brown gave him a shaky thumbs-up, walking in the rear of the group while Riley and Laelaps and Amethyst took the front.

The tunnels didn't seem to stop, getting darker and darker as they progressed deeper into the mine. Brown had never seen anything this dark – and just when it seemed it couldn't possibly get any harder to see, they'd turn a corner and the world would get just a tiny bit darker than it had been before.

Stephanie shuddered, shaking Rodent slightly as he perched on her shoulders.

"I don't see anyone else but us," She noticed. "It's like there's no one working here,"

"Most of the miners should be helping Roark prepare for the Miner's Dance. Not to mention that this area's so deep in the mine that miners probably wouldn't dare to go this deep." Riley explained. "They'd put lamps in here if they did."

He pointed to the walls, lighting up a section with his aura. The walls, unlike the ones closer to the entrance, didn't have brackets for lamps, or any indication that lighting had ever been used in the tunnel.

"We're here," He stopped walking abruptly, causing Brown to walk into his back.

"Ow."

He turned around, inspecting the new abrasion on her face. "I'm sorry," He wasn't laughing, but the amused expression on his face was unmistakable. "Come on, let's go inside,"

Taking Amethyst by the hand, he led her into the cavern, Brown trailing cautiously behind. Her foot hit something metallic, which rolled away from her.

"What's this?" She picked it up, recognising the shape. "Hey, guys, I found a flashlight!"

It seemed almost odd to find a light here, especially since Riley had mentioned nobody even used lights so deep in the cave. However, she didn't question it; any light right now was good light.

She turned it on, and what a difference that made! She could easily see the room – it was smaller than the cavern they'd been in before, but not small enough to stop a battle. Riley had been right: there were claw marks on the walls, made by large sharp claws, and then petering out into what looked like fingernail scratches.

"Whoever used the room before us sure was violent," She whispered in awe. "Look at this,"

Riley, however, was looking at something else. He stood by the wall on his own. A ripped miner's uniform lay in pieces on the ground, it had been torn and scattered about, as if the creature wasn't so pleased to be reminded of his ruined humanity. The pink sewing was still on the clothes, but he couldn't discern any other letters.

Broken bits of mirror ground under his foot – leading to a ruined tortoiseshell hand mirror that looked like it had been broken on purpose. Whoever the Zoroark was, Riley found himself thinking, he really didn't like himself.

"Looks like something slept here," Brown pointed the flashlight at corner of the room. Several blankets had been laid out on the stone floor to make some semblance of a bed. A stuffed toy Rampardos was tucked in between the blankets – unlike nearly everything else in the room, it looked like it had been treated with some care.

"Hehe," She picked it up. "Amy, look at this! Someone must really like Rampardos," She pushed the toy in the belly, causing it to squeak, before handing it to the purple-eyed trainer. "It's so cute!"

She looked the older trainer in the eye. "Is everything okay, Miss Amy?" She asked, a little worried the older trainer might be spooked by the lived-in look of the cavern. "Do… do you think we should start training here?"


	17. CHAPTER 017: Visions!

- N - = Nicky's part

- J - = my part

**Chapter 017 - More training and research!**

**- J -**

As soon as Roark left, Amethyst turned to Riley and Stephanie, a serious expression on her face. They had been chatting before, while Amethyst conversed with the miner. What would have they been talking about?

Well, she would find out later, asking Stephanie.

"Uh, you're right." The woman said, when Riley pointed out the dim light of her hard hat. "Then, can I take it off? It looks ridiculous on me!"

At first, Amethyst wasn't very impressed by the dark tunnels. She had been in darker caves, after all. She walked near Riley, but somewhat keeping the distance... The thought of the hug from before just wouldn't get out of her mind. Why did it mean? Would there be... something else after that?

Not to mention the stupid beast! Questions, questions, questions!

"_I don't see anyone else but us. It's like there's no one working here."_

The teen's scared words somehow frightened Amethyst. She was right. Everything was totally dark, and the air was thin... All she could cling to was the light of Aura Riley was creating.

Thoughtlessly, Amethyst grabbed Riley's left arm. She didn't stop looking around... And, finally, a few, long minutes later...

"_We're here."_

"Phew." Amethyst sighed, definitely not enjoying the experience.

However, she blushed when Riley took her for her hand. It was slightly annoying the fact that he treated her like a damsel in distress... then again, he was the only one that treated like a real lady. And she loved that...

"Th-thank you, Riley..." She stuttered. "But I... umh, can walk by myself..."

Amethyst selected her softest tone since she didn't want to sound rude.

Suddenly, Stephanie's discovery caught her attention, her purple eyes rested on the flashlight.

"Oh, so someone actually DOES use this cavern, after all." Amethyst said, flickering repeatedly when the teenager pointed her with the flashlight.

"_Whoever used the room before us sure was violent. Look at this."_

The woman went to look. Claw marks... then fingernail scratches... Amethyst gulped, believing they were playing with fire. However, that time she decided to hide her emotions.

The chestnut-head noticed Riley at the other side of the cavern, examining the walls along with Laelaps. Amethyst felt the urge to go to ask, but she didn't want to be a pest...

"_Looks like something slept here."_

Amethyst looked at the blankets... and the toy Stephanie had just picked up. A... Rampardos toy...

"Hehe, yeah, it's cute." Amethyst giggled, softly; she picked up the plushie as the teen handed it to her. "I wonder who's its owner...?"

Of course, Roark was the one who appeared in Amethyst's mind. But did it have to be Roark, anyway? She was sure that most of Roark's workmates had children, and some of those children believed Roark was an idol? That would be a good reason for a kid to have a Rampardos toy. And the reason for being there... Well, maybe the father had taken his son to the mine as a tour or something? Questions! Questions!

"_Is everything okay, Miss Amy? Do… do you think we should start training here?"_

Amethyst flinched and shook her head.

"Uh, oh... Yeah." She finally said. "We have to hurry a bit. Lunch time will be in two hours."

The purple-eyed woman gave Riley a last glance before sitting on the ground and opening her bag.

"Alright." Amethyst said. "We finished the lesson about in-battle and regular items, remember, Ms. Brown?"

She took a small basket out from her bag. After opening it, she showed the blondie a bunch of fruits.

"Now, berries!" Amethyst announced. "Berries don't get a lot of attention, which is unfair because they're more useful than they look..."

"Picking them is a pain in the neck, which is the main reason why people don't collect berries." Amethyst added. "But thanks to my brother, who acquires a lot of different berries by winning competitions, I have a bunch of berries at your disposal!"

Amethyst handed Stephanie a tiny, red berry.

"That's the cheri berry, which heals paralysis." She explained. "Remember that Roark's Rampardos knows shock wave." She took a bigger, yellow berry. "Mmh, this is a sitrus berry, which can make your pokémon get back some energy..."

"I'm sure you already knew these two berries, but oh well." Amethyst said, taking a tiny, yellow berry along with a bigger berry. "Ah! These are the charti berry, which decreases the power of rock-type attacks, and the shuca berry, which lowers the power of ground-type attacks."

"You could make Rodent hold one of these berries in your match against Roark." Amethyst said, handing them over Stephanie. "They're very rare... but oh well, you need them more than I do, definitely."

Amethyst rubbed her chin before taking a small. purple berry out from her basket.

"Mmh... This is quite a 'desperate' berry." She explained. "When held, it increases your pokémon's defense if it has few HP left."

"There are a lot of 'desperate' berries, as I call them." Amethyst added. "They can increase attack, speed, accuracy, and they even can help your pokémon to make a critical hit... but only if your pokémon is at its last."

Amethyst digged in her basket, as if looking for something.

"Mmh, I used to have a berry that would have helped you against Roark." She said. "The jaboca berry, which makes the enemy take damage if they attack you with a physical move. But I used it. Too bad."

"Well, these are all the berries you can use in battle, Ms. Brown." The woman said. "Along with the items I just gave you, they should be enough if you use them properly... Do you have any question?"

**- N -**

"Of course," Riley chuckled softly as Amy took off her hard hat. "You look better without it, anyway,"

Reluctantly, he released her arm as they began to explore the cavern, he illuminating the room with a glowing aura sphere while Brown brandished her flashlight and hardhat.

"Do you want a light, too, Miss Amy?" Riley noticed the teenager offering the flashlight to Amethyst. "I already got a hat,"

He turned to the Lucario, a look of annoyance marring his chiselled, statuesque features.

_You didn't have to do that, you know_, He thought, the Lucario understanding him perfectly. _Roark's a friend – you know that as well as I do._

_The enemy of my enemy is my friend; the friend of my enemy is my enemy, Laelaps simply replied. Roark is hiding something. He's tainted with the fox's smell and don't for a moment think I'm going to let something as trivial as a friendship get in the way of this hunt._

Riley didn't look at the pokemon, instead opting to bend down and inspect another torn piece of clothing. It felt like trouser material.

_I'm not going to stop you_, He answered. _But I am going to insist you keep your vendetta to yourself if it means upsetting my friends. Are we understood?_

Laelaps glowered at him, but nodded in compliance.

_Good_, Riley darted a glance at Amethyst, who was now showing Brown a Sitrus berry. The teenager looked bemusedly at the fruit in her hand, obviously confused at the brightly-coloured thing. A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. The thought of the beast clearly had upset Amethyst. Everything was perfect, peaceful, even, without this stupid Zoroark ruining it. If he could just give up the hunt…

No. Oreburgh was being plagued – things were being killed – he had at the very least a duty to stop the monster. Even if it meant having to defer some… pleasures… while he was at it.

_What is it you wanted to show me? _He turned to his Lucario. The dog held out its forepaw in the air, both eyes closed; Riley followed, tapping into the Aura of the room.

_It was dark, but Riley could hear a voice. The light from the flashlight came into view, held by a thin hand._

'_Roark, can you hear me?' The voice was heavily accented with what, Riley realised, was typical Unovvain enunciation. 'It's Serena."_

_Something whimpered in the darkness, a cross between a growl and a human voice._

'_It's Serena,' Serena Joy came into view, shining the light on herself. 'See? It's just me. Nothing to be afraid of. I brought more blankets,'_

_True to her word, she had several blankets in her draped over one arm. She turned to face the corner where Riley knew the bedding had been. Out of formality, she didn't shine the light on the bed, probably trying her best not to upset the creature._

_Where was Roark? Riley wondered, searching the room in his mind's eye. Serena was alone – not even with her Audino._

'_You okay?' Serena trod cautiously, quietly, as if one wrong move would send the creature upon her. 'It's okay if you don't want to come see me or anything; I'm not leaving. I'm staying right here for you.'_

_She settled by the exit, taking out a small notebook and writing by the light from her torch. In the darkness, something breathed heavily, laboured and tired._

'_You're hurt, aren't you?'_

_The darkness shifted, something big ambled towards her, a limp in its gait. Riley stared, fixated, as the Zoroark stepped into the light Serena held. The creature was gigantic, barely smaller than an Ursaring and muscled liberally, dark fur covered its body, barely concealing its admirable musculature. A mane of curled, dark red hair ran down its back, the colour of copper, or dirty blood._

_With a pained growl, the beast tilted its body, letting the Joy get a view of something it had on its arm. Riley craned his neck, but couldn't get a good view of it._

'_Poisoned again?' Serena sighed, a tired smile on her face. She looked almost matronly, like an actual nurse, as she pulled an Antidote from her bag. 'That's what you get for trying to hunt Zubats, you goof,'_

_After she applied the medication, the creature leaned in, touching its forehead to her. They stayed like that for a long, tired moment, before it loped back to the darkness, the spare blankets Serena brought hanging from its mouth gingerly._

_Serena watched his leave._

'_What are you going to do without me?' She laughed softly…_

…And then the scene vanished. The room blurred and reformed itself.

_It must've been another day, a little later; Serena's hair had grown longer. Part of her dress had been torn, and her arm was bleeding from a cut running along her shoulder. Her other arm was preoccupied with a tortoiseshell hand mirror. She staggered backwards, fell, and scrambled on her bum backwards._

_The flashlight rolled on the ground, illuminating, for a brief second, the pad-pad-pad of clawed feet making their way towards her._

_She was sobbing uncontrollably._

'_I know… I know you can recognise me,' Her voice was steely, but shaking slightly. 'And… I know, tomorrow morning, you are really really going to regret this…'_

_She held the mirror in front of her like a shield._

'_Look! Look! Can't you recognise yourself?' She cried, sounding ragged and desperate. 'Think! Remember who you are!'_

_The sound of claws clicking intensified, as the creature gave of a hungry bestial growl that sounded far from human. Serena's voice was gasping for air as she sobbed. Riley noticed she'd been crying._

'_Please,' She whispered, tears were staining her face, tugging makeup in strands down her cheeks._

_The creature stopped as it approached her, staring long and hard at the monster in the mirror, before smacking it down to the floor in an anguished cry. Serena stared, her chest heaving, at the pieces of glass strewn across the floor, before looking back at the Zoroark, which was quickly running, howling, back into the darkness…_

Riley blinked, clutching his head, not with pain, but with the realisation of something bigger. Serena had been with the Zoroark, she even cared about it, but it… it didn't know better. It was still a danger, but it was also something she loved.

_This… changes things, _He muttered in his mind. Laelaps nodded. _We're going to have to be a lot subtler now. Serena's obviously going to protect that thing with her life._

_And Roark? _Laelaps arched a brow.

_I have a suspicion, but… no. _Riley shook his head. _I won't believe it. At least, not yet._

He walked up to Brown and Amethyst, who were still reviewing berries.

"We don't have this sort of thing in Jhoto," Stephanie stared at the different fruits before her, as Rodent gnawed happily on the Sitrus. "All we have are Apricorns! This… this is incredible."

"Well, if you ask me," Riley attempted to sound chipper, squatting down to meet the seated blonde in the eye, "it might be a good idea to test them out, first," He pulled a 'desperate' berry from the pile.

"How about you try the Ganlon berry?" He placed it in the blonde's hand. "Rodent could use a defence boost if his HP got too low,"

Brown shook her head. "No thanks, Mr Riley," She turned to her Raticate. "Rodent already has a hold item, and we're not going to get rid of it yet… but we do need to find some berries we can use in battle."

Riley looked up at the purple-eyed trainer, the very image of sagely divinity as she taught the younger trainer what she knew. He was quite impressed – her knowledge was profound. A smile involuntarily took over his face.

"Maybe… Maybe it's a good time to show her how you use in-battle items, Amethyst?" he suggested. "I think Rodent's ready for another battle,"

The Raticate nodded enthusiastically. "Raticate!"

Brown mirrored the gesture, nodding, "Okay, then, but… Which items can I use for the battle, Miss Amy? And which ones will you be using?"

**- J -**

Amethyst brandished the highlight Stephanie had just given her as she showed the blondie the most useful berries. However, she couldn't help but give Riley and Laelaps some random glance from time to time.

"_I wonder what they're seeing..._"

Stephanie was absorbed with the explanations, Amethyst noticed. She had never seen her so attentive... The purple-eyed woman felt somewhat proud when the teenager displayed so much interest in the 'training'.

"_If Ms. Brown is liking this,_" Amethyst thought, a light smile on her face. "_then I can't be doing it 'that' wrong..._"

"_Well, if you ask me, it might be a good idea to test them out, first."_

Amethyst flinched. She hadn't noticed Riley was bending over them. When had he approached them?

The young woman looked at the man and the teen alternatively. For a moment, she believed she was at Iron Island and, instead of Stephanie, there it was Emerald... Just like happened eight years ago. Everything was so familiar!

"Oh, I had forgotten about that 'mysterious item' of Ms. Brown's!" Amethyst exclaimed, winking at the blondie."I can't wait to see which kind of item you're talking about!"

"_Maybe… Maybe it's a good time to show her how you use in-battle items, Amethyst? I think Rodent's ready for another battle."_

"Already?" Amethyst asked; then looked at Rodent, who was nodding. "Ummh, okay."

She stood up and stayed at the other side of the cavern, giving Stephanie time to go to the other corner.

_Which items can I use for the battle, Miss Amy? And which ones will you be using?"_

"You're free to use whichever of the items I've given to you." Amethyst answered, gently. "You can even give Rodent a boll of Iron, to see its effect."

"As I said before, vitamins are incredibly powerful and also make pokémon friendlier." Amethyst added. "But I don't want Rodent to get an indigestion so, in case you want to give him some Iron now, just give him one boll."

Suddenly, Amethyst took a diary out of her bag and wrote down something.

"I'm annotating that we have to go buy some X-Defense when this training is over." The chestnut-head explained. "Also, we'll try to find the pink bow and the silk scarf, the items that boost the power of normal-types moves."

Amethyst kept the diary in her bag again.

"I'm sorry." She mumbled, as apologizing for taking her so long to write down everything. "I won't be using any item this time."

"This is a training to polish your defense skills, after all." Amethyst said, seriously. "The training from before turned into a 'speed training', and that's not what you need. I'll just tell Toge to attack Rodent with different moves, and we'll see how you manage to keep your defense up."

The young woman sent Toge out of his pokéball.

"Toge, it's training time again!" Amethyst exclaimed. "Come on, Ms. Brown, let's see how you put into use all I've taught you today!"

Toge flapped his strong wings and started to fly. For being several levels over Rodent's, he had the first move.

"_Mmmh, this time I'll use some different moves._" Amethyst thought. "Toge! Use aerial ace!"

"_Aerial ace is another move that never misses._" Amethyst kept thinking, looking at Stephanie. "_I know Stephanie wants Rodent to dodge all the possible moves, but it's not their speed what the have to improve, not their defense..._"

"_And if they want to improve their defense, they have to take some damage!_" Amethyst got prepared for another turn. "Now, use air slash!"

Amethyst wasn't using her strongest moves. That way, Rodent would have more chances to improve at the battle kept going.

Toge formed a ball of blue light and threw it to Rodent.

"Ms. Brown!" Amethyst exclaimed, then. "Keep in mind that this is your last battle before your match against Roark! Please, choose your moves/items carefully and remember that it's defense what you have to improve!"

"Toge!" Amethyst exclaimed. "After air slash, try using your sky attack!"

Toge was still waiting to see if his previous attack hit Rodent when he started to glow in the air. A white aura surrounded his chubby body.

"_Sky attack might be the strongest flying-type move,_" Amethyst thought, frowning. "_but it takes a lot of time to be formed and executed -that's why I'm using it! Let's see how Ms. Brown overcomes this..._"


	18. CHAPTER 018: A nice strategy!

- N - = Nicky's part

- J - = my part

**Chapter 018 - A nice strategy!**

**- N -**

Brown psyched herself up for another round of battling. She'd never had two fights so close to each other before, and the fatigue was starting to take its toll on her – nevertheless, the excitement another fight with Amy promised kept her heart racing.

"I could use some pancakes after this," She muttered, earning an approving nod from Rodent.

She listened intently to Amy's explain the rules:

_"You're free to use whichever of the items I've given to you. You can even give Rodent a boll of Iron, to see its effect."_

"Alright," She unscrewed the cap off the bottle and gingerly tipped its contents into Rodent's waiting open mouth. The Raticate chewed enthusiastically.

"Feeling any different?" Brown bit her lip.

"RATICATE!" Rodent flexed his rat biceps with as much maschismo he could muster, which served to send his trainer into a fit of giggles.

"You big fat dummy," The blonde laughed, "they don't work that fast! You gotta level up and stuff, first,"

"Ticate…" Rodent drooped his ears, annoyed and dismayed.

"And that's why we're training," She touched noses with the Raticate. "C'mon, let's see you war face – ARRGH." She ground her teeth together fiercely.

"RAAARRGH," Rodent mimicked her. "Raaarrticate!"

"That's my boy, let's go kick come ass!"

Riley couldn't help but smile at the both of them. Carefully, he took his place next to Amethyst on the battlefield. The chestnut-haired woman had been making notes in a diary and he waited for her to look up.

"_I'll just tell Toge to attack Rodent with different moves, and we'll see how you manage to keep your defense up."_

From across the room, Brown gave her a thumbs-up as her Raticate assumed a fighting stance.

_"Toge! Use aerial ace!"_

Instinctively, the Raticate began to run in a bid to dodge the attack, but found the Togekiss manoeuvring with much more agility than he had – when he turned, Toge turned, when he jumped, so did Toge – not surprisingly, the move hit, sending the Raticate sprawling across the floor.

"Aerial Ace is move that never misses, Stephanie," he called. "It's just like Shock Wave – you'd be daft to try and dodge it. Try bearing it, and hitting back!"

The blonde trainer nodded across the room.

Rodent pulled himself to his feet with surprising ease, Riley noticed. "It seemed those Iron pills are starting to kick in," He mused.

Stephanie tossed the X-Defense shaker to Rodent, who stuffed it into his mouth quickly, just before a bright blue sphere hit him. The Raticate grunted, but kept his ground.

"That's it," Brown nodded. "Bear it and hit back,"

The chubby Raticate chuffed in affirmation.

"Now, Rodent! Give it all you got! Flame Wheel!"

The Raticate set his fur on fire and began to roll, aiming himself at the now glowing Togekiss. The Flame Wheel hit it squarely, knocking it slightly off course. The Sky Attack grazed Rodent's side mercifully – reducing the damage if just by a bit.

"Rodent! Eat this, now!" She called out, tossing the blue Sitrus to her rat. Rodent jumped in the air, gobbling the berry as he did – by the time he landed, it was nothing but a core. The Raticate shook himself as some of his superficial cuts began to weave themselves together and heal.

"This. This is awesome." Stephanie's mouth was tiny with pressurized glee.

"Rodent, Bite!"

The Raticate snapped open its jaws, bringing them together, vicelike, on the Togekiss' tail. The resulting jerking cause him to drop, bouncing off the floor on his padded bottom as he did.

"Hurry, boy! Quick Attack!"

The Raticate glowed before running towards Toge, his body a furry brown bullet.

Riley didn't see if it hit, instead he turned to Amethyst:

"She learns fast," He noted, a smile playing across his chiselled features. "You're quite the teacher, Amethyst,"

He took off his hat, running the back of his hand across his sweating forehead. "It's hot down here," The air was pressurised, thin and stifling. He wondered how Serena could handle staying here all night with her Zoroark friend.

Discreetly, he pulled off his jacket and laid it against a rock, just next to where Laelaps had taken to sitting. The Lucario glanced at the garment with detached interest, then turned his attention back to the battle.

He felt curiously exposed with nothing but his sweater on. The velvet clung to the curves of his body, held there with moisture and what musculature he had. He wondered whether the suit he'd be fitted for that afternoon would be slightly more breezy.

"Which reminds me, Amethyst," He murmured, "do you know what you want to wear for tomorrow night?"

**- J -**

Now that Stephanie'd used X-Defense, Rodent's defense was notoriously high. The air slash move, despite hitting the target, had barely made some damage.

"_Now, Rodent! Give it all you got! Flame Wheel!"_

"She's using her strongest move now?" Amethyst asked, surprised. "Already? Mmmh, I wonder what's she up to."

"Toge!" Toge exclaimed, when Rodent collided with him in the air.

The sky attack barely touched the rat, all due to its low accuracy. It was like... an attack exchange: they hit each other at the same time, Amethyst thought, amused.

"Toge! Roost!" Amethyst ordered.

Her Togekiss landed and stayed on the ground for a few minutes, while Rodent ate the sitrus berry.

"Kiss..." Toge said, relieved.

He didn't get all his energies back, but it was enough to not be tired.

Amethyst couldn't help but laugh when she saw Stephanie so surprised at the berry's effect. However, she didn't have much time to laugh, because Rodent was ready to attack again.

"Be prepared, Toge!" Amethyst exclaimed.

Suddenly, Rodent bit Toge's large tail. It was totally unexpected, definitely. And Toge wasn't amused.

"To! Toge!" Toge screamed, starting to fly still with Rodent biting his tail. "Toge! Togekiss!"

Toge threw Rodent to the ground. The rat, undaunted and tireless attacked again using a quick attack.

So quick that Toge couldn't even see where Rodent was coming from. Toge got hit; however, his defense was pretty high as well.

"My turn!" Amethyst exclaimed. "Double edge!"

If Rodent had increased his defense, then that meant that she could afford to use stronger moves, after all.

Toge collided brutally with Rodent and then started to fly high again.

"_She learns fast. You're quite the teacher, Amethyst."_

Amethyst looked at the man near her. Just when had he positioned himself there?The purple-eyed female blushed.

"Oh... Thank you, Riley." She said. "You're right, Ms. Brown learns very fast. And she's putting into use her items very well to be her first time!"

The woman's chest swelled with pride. Not only Stephanie was enjoying a training Amethyst had planned herself, but also Riley had complimented her! Suddenly, everything seemed so pretty...

...that she didn't notice Rodent attacking Toge with another quick attack. Stephanie sure knew how to take advantage of quick moves!

"Oops! Toge, use metronome!" Amethyst ordered.

While Toge prepared his next attack, the chestnut-head gave Riley a sidelong glance. He was still near her, his hat in his hand while he swiped the sweat out off his forehead.

"_It's hot down here."_

He was right. Amethyst looked back at the battlefield. The resulting attack of the metronome was a simple vine whip.

It shouldn't be a challenge for Rodent, Amethyst thought, while she took her brown jacket off. Come to think of it, she hadn't taken it off even last night when sleeping! With her tiny shoulders and her scrawny arms released, Amethyst felt way lighter.

There was a reason why she always used jackets that were somewhat big for her: they hid her skinny, small body. Maybe she wasn't so different from her brother as people believed...

"Now use double edge again, Toge!" Amethyst ordered, waving her right arm on the air.

Toge flew high to take a run before nosediving at full speed towards Rodent. Amethyst kept watching carefully to see if he managed to hit the target, when she got distracted by the rustling of clothes behind her.

She was used to see Riley without his coat back in Iron Island, specially when they went to sleep, wasn't she? Then, why did she get so nervous when she saw him without the coat after all those years? Well, truth to be told, he had grown slightly more muscular, maybe due to all his travelling, or that was what she could tell thanks to Riley's tight sweater.

"_Which reminds me, Amethyst, do you know what you want to wear for tomorrow night?"_

"E-eh? Mmmh." The purple-eyed woman stuttered, blushing. "I-I don't know... Just a simple dress... Purple, pink or black... Something simple, really."

Amethyst shook her head with the hope to sound less dreamy.

"Anyway," She added. "why are you talking about that now? First... I must... finish this battle."

**- N -**

Rodent shrieked as the double-Edge attack sent him flying; twisting in the air like a cat, he barely managed to meet the ground with his feet. His breathing was laboured, and Stephanie quickly pulled out her pokedex.

"You're running low on health again," She gulped. "Come on, take that last Sitrus before you faint,"

She tossed the final blue fruit into the air for her Raticate, who caught it with a practiced flip. While the berry healed him out of the red, the pokedex displayed his health bar as a foreboding orange. This wasn't going to be easy.

Toge clicked his wings back and forth – tick tock, tick tock – after remembering the last disastrous Metronome outcome, Brown ground her teeth. Rodent seemed equally worried, he hunkered down close to the floor, afraid but assured…

…As thin little green vines reached out to slap feebly at him.

Brown laughed, clutching her stomach. What a blessed relief!

"Vine Whip!" She chortled, now with the buttocks on the floor. "Pbbbbbttttthhh!"

While Rodent took some damage from the occasional abnormally-persistent vine, he easily stomped the unruly green shoots away with his feet. Satisfied the vines were done with their attack, he focused his attention back to the Togekiss in the air above him.

Sometime when they hadn't quite noticed, Toge had healed himself with a Roost attack. They were both out of healing-items, but Toge had an unending supply of natural healing talent – so long as he didn't run out of pp. It definitely put her and Rodent at a disadvantage, but Brown wasn't too fond of losing twice.

"Bite him again, Rodent!" She called out, as Rodent jumped up and latched himself with all the muscles in his face to the Togekiss' dangling foot.

to the ground, rolling into a ball and bouncing on the rocky floor to break his fall. He uncurled himself and stood on twos, watching his handiwork. "Ririri…?"

Toge was doing something else, flying higher than before, and sharply turning his beak down towards the Raticate.

"Raticate!" Rodent cried out as he dropped back

"That's Double-Edge, Rodent! Be careful!"

Stephanie checked her pokedex – a Double-Edge would certainly be the end of Rodent – the Raticate just didn't have the energy left to survive an attack that strong…

…Unless, of course, he had a Focus Sash.

"Do it like we practised, Rodent, keep your attack prepared first, and then bide your time!"

The Raticate gripped his hold item tightly, his tiny teeth grinding together as the impact shocked his entire body, knocking him off his feet and sending him bouncing across the cavern floor. Brown checked the pokedex and – mercy of mercies – Rodent still had a single hit point left.

"YES! NOW RODENT! ENDEAVOUR!"

Using every last ounce of his strength, Rodent limped to his feet and shoved hard against the Togekiss' body. The force was enough to knock the large bird out of the air and onto the ground, lifting a magnificent cloud of dust.

Brown coughed, wheezing asthmatically before the air settled. Rodent was breathing heavily, his sides heaving with the effort… and his opponent pinned down between his forepaws.

"Endeavour?" Riley's brow furrowed. "Doesn't that move bring an opponent's HP down to match its user's? Rodent only has a single hit point left thanks to his focus sash…"

"That leaves Toge with only one HP too," Brown explained. "And leaves us free to do this: RODENT! QUICK ATTACK!"

Taking advantage of his natural speed, Rodent moved first, finishing off the Togekiss with a Quick Attack.

As Toge fainted, Rodent turned back to his trainer, triumph glittering in his red eyes.

"Raticate!" He dusted off his paws.

"YOU DID IT!" Brown was at his side in a second, her knees kneeling on the ground and her arms wrapping him in hugs. "OMIGOSH! WE WON! WE WON! YOU ARE THE GREATEST RAT IN THE WHOLE WURRRLD!"

"Ticate," Rodent shrugged, as if to say 'Of course.'

He nuzzled his trainer, touching his nose to hers, before wiggling out of her grasp and to Toge, offering the Togekiss a paw to help him up.

"Raticate,"

"Good game, Stephanie," Riley clapped his velvet-gloved hands. "I definitely didn't see that coming,"

"Well I can't take all the credit," Brown bit her lip, blushing, as she strode across the cavern and to the two trainers. "Emerald taught me that, actually."

She looked at Amy without her jacket – she seemed so much smaller without it, and suddenly the family resemblance became slightly uncanny. Both Amy and her brother were built like children, skinny and short. Brown had never noticed before.

"I like your outfit, Miss Amy," She beamed, looking at the petite older trainer. "I couldn't see it very well under your jacket – you should just go without it, you look nicer like this,"

"I agree," Riley smiled, seeing Amethyst surprisingly vulnerable reminded him of her younger days at Iron Island. It made him instinctively want to drape an arm around her shoulders – however, he held himself back. No point in making her uncomfortable.

Stephanie hadn't taken off her own jacket. Being naturally Jhotoain, the heat was something she quite enjoyed – it felt like a welcome change from Sinnoh's constant frigidity.

Riley himself, Brown noticed, wasn't wearing his jacket – exposing a neat set of muscles that his velvet shirt did little to hide. While he was no means as well-built as Roark, he was an impressive sight. His build matched his statuesque face and, for a brief moment, Brown thought of renaissance sculptures and chiselled marble Michelangelo Davids.

The Statue of David placed his hat back on his cobalt-blue hair, and suddenly Brown remembered Riley was still very much alive.

"Would either of you wonderful ladies care for a drink?" He smiled. Laelaps had gotten to his feet, indicating his eagerness to leave. "I think we're quite done with this cavern."

**- J -**

Amethyst grinned as she saw how the wine whip move wasn't a match for Rodent.

"This is the good side... and the bad side, at the same time, of metronome." Amethyst explained. "It can give you a powerful attack... or an useless attack. Now you understand why I call it a 'rely-on-luck' move."

"_Bite him again, Rodent!"_

Toge did nothing to hide his worry at the idea of getting bitten again. He shook his wings fast to escape, but Rodent reached him.

"Togetoo!" Toge screamed in pain.

Well, at least he hadn't bitten his tail again. Amethyst smiled with sorrow, noticing how tired Toge was. She hadn't healed him after the first match, after all.

When she commanded Toge to use double-edge again, Amethyst noticed a thin item between Rodent's paws. It seemed like... a red band, or something like that.

"He endured it!" Amethyst exclaimed, surprised when seeing Rodent not faint after the attack. "That only means... that it's the focus sash!"

Certainly, she didn't see that coming...

"_I had read about that item somewhere; it's an 'only-one-use item'._" Amethyst thought. "_But I believed the pokémon had to have its full HP to use that item... Well, this totally shows that books don't teach everything._"

For a moment, she felt like Platina Berlitz. Even Amethyst, the Item Especialist amongst the old Dexholders, had still way to learn.

It was Stephanie's turn again. When Rodent used endeavour, Amethyst was as surprised (if not more) as Riley. That, along the focus sash, was quite an ace up the sleeve!

"Incredible!" Amethyst exclaimed, open-mouthed.

"_...And leaves us free to do this: RODENT! QUICK ATTACK!"_

The young woman hadn't been sure if Toge would have attacked first that turn, but they didn't have to worry about it anymore.

Quick attack seemed like a weak attack, specially when its power was so low. But it was a move that assured you to attack first, and if your opponent only had one HP left, it was definitely a clever move.

"Kiss..." Toge muttered, as he fell onto the ground with a thud.

There was something oddly pleasant about seeing Stephanie and Rodent dance in joy. The chestnut-head felt even happier when she saw Rodent offer Toge a paw.

"Toge, kiss..." Toge said, too tired to stand up.

However, he gave Rodent his right wing, as if handshaking. Amethyst squatted near Toge and patted his head.

"You've been awesome, Toge." She told him. "You deserve a long rest."

Amethyst took Toge back into his pokéball and then brushed Rodent's fur happily.

"And you've been even more awesome!" She exclaimed, and planted another kiss on his forehead. "You really deserve a prize!"

"_Well I can't take all the credit, Emerald taught me that, actually."_

The chestnut-head stood up.

"Yeah, it definitely looked like one of his strategies." Amethyst nodded. "I don't know how I didn't see that coming... Then again, my brother has used so many strategies that I can't remember them all..."

"_I like your outfit, Miss Amy, I couldn't see it very well under your jacket – you should just go without it, you look nicer like this."_

"Oh, thank you." Amethyst said. "I love long dresses, they're so comfortable! But I look too childish without a big jacket, I'm afraid-"

She blushed when she heard Rily agreeing with the teenager. She never got compliments about her clothes, or her tiny figure.

"_Would either of you wonderful ladies care for a drink? I think we're quite done with this cavern."_

"Oh! Yes!" Amethyst exclaimed, totally loving the idea of leaving the mines. "I fancy a very cold lemonade!"

The purple-eyed woman's steps were fast as they walked throughout the cave corridors and caverns. Fresh air. That was what she needed.

"I must admit that I've had fun training with you, Ms. Brown." Amethyst said as they walked. "Passing my knowledge to an apprentice is very pleasant!"

"Now I know how you felt when you trained Diamond." The woman smiled at Riley.

Once out of the mines, Amethyst stretched and took a deep breath. Then, she patted Laelap's head. It made her wonder if he would get angry at her the same way he did to Roark, though.

"Poor Laelaps, he seems so bored." Amethyst said. "I say we buy a chocolate shake for him! And a super-giant drink for Rodent!"

She took a look at her pokégear.

"It's still 12.30." She said. "We could go have some drinks and then go to buy some items for Ms. Brown. And we could go to the same café we went yesterday! Does that sound like a plan?"

"By the way," Amethyst added. "after shopping, it would be a good time to have lunch... Are we having lunch at Roark's or are we going anywhere?"


	19. CHAPTER 019: Don't judge a book

- N - = Nicky's part

- J - = my part

Chapter 019 - Don't judge a book by its cover

**- N -**

This time, Rodent did nothing to hide his unabashed glee at being praised. He squirmed in contentment as Amy planted a kiss on his head, his muzzle turning pinkish.

Brown held him in her arms, rolling her eyes at the spectacle – stripped off his machismo, Rodent was quite the softie. At the very least, he was the greatest attention whore she'd ever met (save for Ruby back in Hoenn).

She did, however, chuckle as Amy mentioned Emerald's multitude of strategies. "I know," She laughed. "Back with Crystal, he kept trying to teach me ways to overcome Rodent's weakness and stuff – he had so so so many different strategies, I can't remember a one! Well, save for the Focus-Endeavour-Attack-Rat thing… it had a fun acronym. I love acronyms,"

"Rarrcate," Rodent shrugged.

"Well, Rodent remembers a lot of things Rald taught us that I forgot – he's always full of surprises, arenchoo?" She cooed, eliciting a fit of giggles from her Raticate.

Amy was blushing, perhaps slightly uncomfortable with all the attention her dress was receiving. Riley himself seemed absolutely enamoured to stare at her bare shoulders. Brown pulled a face – while Riley was trying his honest best to be subtle with his feelings, it was clear enough to the teenager that his affections for her new sensei were as subtle as a two-by-four plank to the head.

Arceus knew she'd been hit by enough planks to know.

Without a word, she grabbed the jacket from the older trainer's hand, a cheeky expression on her face. It was a little small on her, and pinched around the shoulders a little, but fit her more-or-less snugly.

"I'll take that," She winked. "If you want to keep warm, just ask Riley for help."

It was only moments later, as she was walking out the entrance with Rodent perched on Amy's jacket's shoulders, before Stephanie realised she'd acted exactly like Gold.

Riley seemed slightly perturbed at the new development, his mouth was open in a perfect imitation of an antique nutcracker. Laelaps barked with obvious amusement on his face as the group wound their way out of the tunnels.

He held his own jacket in his hand, still slightly too warm for him to put it back on. He wondered whether it was a good idea to give it to Amethyst – surely she'd want to cover up… no. Not unless she needed it.

He didn't want to scare her with an overly-romantic gesture; wearing each other's clothes was, after all, something only couples did.

_"I must admit that I've had fun training with you, Ms. Brown. Passing my knowledge to an apprentice is very pleasant!"_

Well, I had lots of fun, too," Brown's shoulders shook with laughter under Amy's jacket. "I can't thank you enough – I feel really really really ready for Roark!"

In the light of the sun, her arms rose to automatically shield her eyes. Amy read the clock carefully: 12:30 in the afternoon.

"It's funny when you think about it," She added, "Yesterday, right now, we'd be complete strangers, and now, you're practically my sensei!"

Laelaps' tongue lolled out his mouth with blatant pleasure as Amy reached for his head. It was obfuscating, Riley knew – Laelaps was nobody's lapdog, but he was certainly being nice to Amethyst. Whatever for, however, Riley wasn't too sure.

The Lucario shot him a glare. _Your turn_, Laelaps muttered. _Be nice to her_.

Riley stared, his mouth still slightly agape.

"Ah," He began, then stopped himself when he realised he wasn't coherent. "Right. Uh… A chocolate shake, right? That sounds lovely – yes, lovely. I'll pay for it."

"You're quite the Uncle Moneybags, aren't you, Mister Riley?" Brown laughed, her sand-blonde hair tumbling in the collar of the jacket as she did. She wiggled happily, enjoying the brush of her hair on the nape of her neck.

True enough, it seemed Riley had an unexhausted supply of money from a magic well down under the earth. As he lead them to the desert shop they'd lunched at the afternoon before and tipped the waiter for good seats, Brown began to suspect Riley kept a stash of leprechauns (or Meowths, there really wasn't much difference) in servitude to him in an obscure squalor-filed basement somewhere.

"To answer your question," Riley's turned to face her, his voice maintained in a low 'between-you-and-me' whisper. His eyes gleamed blue, no doubt he'd noticed her chain of thought. "I'm by no means Steven Stone, but I do own a sizeable island off the coast of Canalave and stakes in the ferry industry to it.

"But that's barely any revenue compared to the debentures I have in Oreburgh's coal mining industry – by extension, the owners of the mine have been living in modest wealth for the last three generations, too,"

Brown hadn't let much of that sink in, until he mentioned the mine's owners…

"Wait. Do you mean to say Roark's… rich?"

Riley smiled as he took his seat across the table from her: "Quite possibly the most financially-assured man in Oreburgh, Miss Brown. He just doesn't make a show of it quite like I do."

"Serena's totally after his cash," Brown nursed a smile. Rodent crawled into the booth next to her.

"That's a possibility," Riley laughed. The seat next to him, like the day before, went untaken for Amethyst. "But, if you want my opinion, I think Serena sees in him something else we're both missing."

"Besides the obvious?"

"And what would that be?"

"Come on – pretty-boy good looks, good taste in glasses, abs you could grate cheese off…"

Riley burst out laughing, a noise that sounded like the rustling of ancient pages along with mirth.

"Maybe. But I'm quite sure Serena's not one to bother with… superficial… attractions – she strikes me as the sort of person who spends a lot of time searching for the person you are inside."

He stayed that way, a serenely cryptic expression on his face as Brown contemplated the information she'd been served with. Above all, how the island… Iron Island… belonged to Riley. Well, considering how he'd met Amy, that wasn't too much of a surprise. She wondered if Amy knew, if he'd shared this with her.

"Raticate!"

She didn't stop to think much longer – instead opting to bury her face in the waffle that had landed on the table in front of her. She ate faster and messier than Rodent himself, which was considerable.

"Thith is buh besfth mmwwaffle I ever had!"

Riley kept his fingers intertwined, elbows-on-table, in their velvet gloves. His jacket was folded neatly across his lap, but was moved to the seat as he stood up for Amethyst.

"Not too cold?" He asked, offering to help her into the booth. "I could always ask Miss Brown to give that back to you, you know-hey!"

A tiny blue flint of Aura had been flicked at him by his Lucario, an annoyed expression marring Laelaps' face. _Not_ her _jacket_! He growled, _offer yours!_

**- J -**

Stephanie looked pretty good in Amethyst's jacket, she noticed. Maybe it wasn't the teen's style, but since she had a better body, she looked decent.

"You're pretty cute in that, Ms. Brown." Amethyst said, nodding.

Her expression completely changed when Stephanie winked and said, in a totally Gold-ish tone:

"_I'll take that. If you want to keep warm, just ask Riley for help."_

Did she know? Amethyst thought, blushing. But how? She had been keeping the distance... and yet, Stephanie had noticed. Was it SO obvious?

The purple-eyed trainer's blush didn't disappear for a long time. She felt comfortable without the jacket, truth to be told. Specially in those mines. There was sure hot there...

Even when they were outside the mines, Amethyst didn't miss her jacket. The fresh air around her thin arms felt so good... However, she wondered whether Stephanie felt hot with two jackets.

...Well, the blondie certainly didn't.

"_It's funny when you think about it. Yesterday, right now, we'd be complete strangers, and now, you're practically my sensei!"_

"That's right." Amethyst nodded. "Come to think of it, I only came to Oreburgh to have a look at the Miner's Dance. I would have never imagined I would meet a girl like you! And..."

The chestnut-head gave Riley a glance. Definitely, seeing him again was the best it could have happened to her. Too bad her pride was too huge to let her show her emotions.

"_...Right. Uh… A chocolate shake, right? That sounds lovely – yes, lovely. I'll pay for it."_

Amethyst couldn't stop noticing something... odd on Riley's tone. As if he was... absent? Or something like that.

"No, no." Amethyst denied. "I said we could buy a chocolate shake for Laelaps since he loves chocolate. But for ME, I'd like a lemonade."

The small woman observed Stephanie and Riley as they talked about Riley's money.

Nothing about the conversation was new for her, anyway.

"_Definitely,_" Amethyst thought. "_Ms. Brown has no qualms, she practically talks about everything... and with a stranger like Riley!_"

Definitely, an interesting girl. Maybe she was a bit brute, or even somewhat tomboy-ish, but a girl after all. What Amethyst missed was a proper 'girls talk', and she trusted the teen enough for that...

Her surprise was huge when, as soon as they entered the café, Stephanie and Riley started gossipping about Roark and Serena's relationship. Just, what the...? She would have definitely seen that coming from the blondie, but...

"I think it's cute." Amethyst suddenly said when Riley stopped talking about Serena.

The purple-eyed woman blushed as her companions turned their heads to look at her when she said that.

"I-I mean..." Amethyst stuttered, placing her eyes on her lemonade. "I know which type of woman Serena is... I know it well... And I can tell she feels something for Roark, she just doesn't want to show it. A woman like that can't be superficial, that's for sure."

A silly smile crossed Amethyst's face as she looked up again.

"I just think it's a cute relationship." She said. "Love in general is..."

Well, Stephanie might like gossipping, but she wasn't a fanatic, after all, Amethyst could notice when the teen got tired of the conversation and started to eat as crazy. If Brown had been Pink, she'd have been gossipping for hours!

"This lemonade tastes good, too." Amethyst said, grinning. "It's so cold! Just what I needed!"

Then, Riley stood up, with what appeared to be an intention to say something to Amethyst. The woman stared at him as she took a sip of her lemonade.

"_Not too cold? I could always ask Miss Brown to give that back to you, you know-hey!"_

"Eh? No." Amethyst denied, politely. "I'm perfectly fine like this! And it's midday, anyway, there's no way I can get cold now."

"There's no need to worry so much, Riley." She added, smiling at the blue-haired man.

Maybe that was the reason why Stephanie had noticed Amethyst's infatuation: while Amethyst was quite an expresionless person, her glances and smiles were totally different when she was talking to someone she cared about.

Specially if it was the man of her life.

"However, you didn't reply to my previous question." Amethyst said, remembering how Riley had been distracted a few minutes ago. "After these drinks, I'd planned to go shopping some items for Ms. Brown, and after that we could have lunch."

"Will we have lunch at Roark's or do you have anything planned? I mean, I'd feel bad for Serena if she has to cook a lot again, but yet I don't want you to spend so much money..."

**- N -**

_"I think it's cute."_

Brown's head snapped to attention, regarding Amy like she'd grown a second nose from out between her eyes. Riley, too, had stopped talking, and was watching the woman with fresh interest.

_"I-I mean..." I know which type of woman Serena is... I know it well... And I can tell she feels something for Roark, she just doesn't want to show it. A woman like that can't be superficial, that's for sure."_

Riley nodded. "Exactly my point," He agreed. "Love's an amazing thing,"

_"I just think it's a cute relationship. Love in general is..."_

What? Riley wondered. What was love to Amethyst?

Stephanie Brown snorted. "You're one to talk, Mr Riley; considering the fact that you haven't done anything about your own love problems."

Riley's expression looked like a cross between drowning, choking, and dull surprise. "Whatever do you mean, Miss Brown?"

"Come on," Stephanie lowered her voice to spare Amethyst from what she said next: "I may be dumb, but I'm not stupid… wait. That didn't make much sense, did it?" She paused, then shook her head. "Anyway, your feelings for Amy are about as subtle as a brick to the face, Mr Riley.

"Pardon me for being nosey, but can't you just tell her how you feel?" She finally concluded, with a slight amount of effort.

Riley looked at her, his face devoid of anything that would remotely suggest happiness. "It's… complicated, Miss Brown, you wouldn't understand."

"Oh, really?" Brown crossed her arms. "And what wouldn't I understand? I'm sixteen, Mr Riley – and for the last four years of my life, I have been living with couple after couple in Professor Oak's pathetic little bid to protect me. I've spent mornings serving tea for Silver and Blue; I was the one who faked a valentine for Crystal so she thought Gold sent it; hell, I was even there when Ruby went down on one knee for Sapphire! There is nothing about your relationship with Miss Amethyst that I'm not entirely familiar with."

For the first time since she met the blue-haired man, Riley looked uncomfortable.

"You saved Amy's life when she was younger, she liked you and you weren't ready, am I right? And now, you totally want her, but you're too scared to ask, aren't you? You think she's moved on and now you're the one pining for her purple panties?"

The idea of Riley lusting after a pair of knickers was beyond comical, but Brown kept her face at a level expression of severity. All pretence of joviality had fled her eyes. Even Rodent shied away from his trainer, unused to Brown being so serious.

"Let me tell you one thing, Mr Riley, and I won't repeat myself: If you think you're the only one in this relationship carrying the proverbial torch, think again. Miss Amy wants you as much as you do – you can see it in her eyes, the way they kind of light up when she'd talking about you, the funny smile she has when she looks at you… She still loves you.

"But, Mr Riley, if you keep hemming and hawing and acting like nothing at all happened on that little peewee playhouse you call Iron Island, I weep for the day Miss Amy moves on for better men than you."

She ended, crossing her arms across her chest. The material of Amy's jacket strained as it stretched across her larger body. Rodent kept his ears plastered against his head, in fear or surprise, it was hard to tell. Brown had raised her voice as her tirade had gone on – probably not loud enough for anyone to overhear, but loud enough for both men at the table to look very, very uncomfortable indeed.

Riley looked away, but Laelaps wouldn't be a source of comfort now – the Lucario nodded to the blonde girl and displayed, for the first time, a vague semblance of respect for Stephanie Brown, before turning into red light and returning into his ball.

"…And that's how I was banned from Professor Elm's lab! Hoo boy, who knew all it takes are three angry pokemon to raze a whole building to the ground? Am I right? C'mon, I'm totes right? Right?" Brown's voice returned to it usual chipper tone as she looked back at Amethyst, seeming, for all the world, like she'd been talking about Professor Elm for the entirety for that dangerous, whispered conversation.

_"After these drinks, I'd planned to go shopping some items for Ms. Brown, and after that we could have lunch. Will we have lunch at Roark's or do you have anything planned? I mean, I'd feel bad for Serena if she has to cook a lot again, but yet I don't want you to spend so much money..."_

Finally glad to have a distraction, Riley jumped on the chance to have a conversation with Amy that didn't involve latent sexual tension in any form.

"I didn't ask Serena to cook for us, truth be told," He began to notice, just as Brown had said before, the way Amy smiled just ever-so-slightly differently around him. A gentle smile worked it way into his features. "She seemed tired enough after breakfast, and I think she was attempting to fix her dress for the Miner's Dance today, among her… other obligations…"

…Obligations like wondering how to hide her Zoroark friend for the full moon when the Mine would be used for the dance.

"We'll have lunch at the plaza," He offered. "Money is no object, I'm sure Miss Brown and her Raticate would enjoy a nice three-course meal at a good restaurant after that battle this morning."

Brown beamed at the thought of going shopping. "Oh yes! And it's been weeks since I've seen an actual mall!" Her smile was wide as she gathered her things to get ready to leave. "This is going to be so so so awesome!"

Likewise, Riley arranged his dishes on the table neatly before gathering his things to leave, offering Amethyst his hand to help her out of the booth as he did. He cast a glance at the blonde trainer, who was in the process of allowing her Raticate to scamper up her arm.

Riley stared, the moment becoming a pregnant pause as he composed his words.

Eventually, he murmured a weary but elated "Thank you," into her ear as they walked out of the dessert shop and into the afternoon beyond.

_A few minutes later…_

The shopping plaza at Oreburgh was by no means the size of Vielstone's department store. The two-storey glass complex contained a modest PokeMart, the occasional clothes shop, but enough restaurants to feed a small army of miners.

And feed the miners they did! The miners were there in spades – a collection of hardhats, yellow-and-black stripes, and, of course, spades. They mulled about the central fountain, lolled on alfresco chairs outside cafes, and wolf-whistled at the two young women as they walked past.

Riley instinctively stepped between Amethyst and a muscled miner who had wiggled his eyebrows at her.

"Something tells me it's not going to be really hard to find a date around these parts," Brown chewed her lip happily. "Look at that guy."

She jabbed her finger into the air, in the direction of a svelte pale blonde miner, his open shirt displaying an impressive set of washboard abs.

"Or that guy," A tanned and barechested miner lay shirtless, the sweat on his impressive muscles sparkling like Edward-Cullen-Skin in the sunlight.

"Or that guy," A miner with delightfully chique sunglasses perched atop his hardhat.

"Or that guy," A miner with pink hair. _Ridiculously _pink hair…

"Get your grubby little finger out of my face, Blondie," Serena Joy snarled. Her hair had been tied back into the two loops Joys usually kept them in, what little remained of it was hidden under a large red hardhat that was (judging from its size) probably Roark's.

"Serena?" Riley moved between both girls, to prevent the off-chance of one pecking the other's eyes out. "What are you doing here?"

The Joy lifted a garment bag for them to see, a hanger and what looked like a grey dress peeking out from the beneath. "It's my dress. I need to get this thing fitted – it's a little too complicated for me to fix on my own."

"Methinks," Brown smiled, "Someone can't sew as well as she cooks~"

"Bite your tongue! I can sew perfectly fine."

Unable to think of a better insult, Brown settled for sticking out her tongue at the Joy, a gesture her Raticate imitated.

Serena rolled her eyes, visible distaste in her face.

"Why are you dressed like that, anyway?" Riley arched a brow, taking in her pinned hair. With her generic pink loopy pigtails, she looked nearly indistinguishable from a Pokemon Center nurse. "I didn't think you'd be the kind to tie up your hair."

"We all tie up our hair when we go out," Serena muttered grudgingly, "but I make it a point to try not to on occasion."

"And the hardhat?"

"I'm trying not to stand out. At least, not during the miner's lunch hour. Do you really want to be hit on by _these _guys?" She gestured vaguely to the small legion of red-hatted miners around the mall, to which Brown nodded enthusiastically.

"Well, most of them are jerks," She muttered, before remembering Roark. "Well, maybe not all of them," She bit her lip.

"You'd better dress a little more conservatively, Amethyst," Serena turned to the purple-eyes trainer, gesturing to her bare shoulders. Her voice, usually so acidic, was filled with concern. "These guys on their lunch break are notorious flirts."

Riley looked somewhat perturbed at this revelation, but stood still regardless. However, a haughty cat-call from the fountain was more than enough encouragement for him to shake his jacket off and hang it, with protective force, over Amethyst. He darted a hostile glance at the flirtatious miner.

"Let's… start walking," He muttered in her ears, a feral male territorialism still clinging on to his voice. "Try to find the shop you need first, Amethyst."

Serena stared at the gesture.

"Did something happen?" She looked from the colbalt-haired man to the quite possibly stunned young woman who had just received his coat. "Between the two of you, I mean?"

"We almost died in the mines," Brown smiled cheerily. "Riley and Amy got some waifu time together,"

"Really?" Serena looked intrigued. "What happened?"


	20. CHAPTER 020: At the plaza

- N - = Nicky's part

- J - = my part

**Chapter 020 - At the plaza**

**- J -**

Amethyst was distracted with her lemonade but, however, she couldn't stop noticing, from time to time, how Stephanie and Riley were talking in a suspiciously low tone.

It seemed like Riley was in 'gossip mode' that day. First, Laelaps; then, Stephanie. Amethyst wondered if he would do the same with her while she took another sip of her lemonade.

Riley's expressions varied; they were mostly... awkward. However, the woman couldn't see the teen's face. The conversation ended soon, but there was something strange in the way Stephanie toned up her voice.

Oh, well. Whatever. Nothing of that would change Amethyst's plans anyway.

"_We'll have lunch at the plaza. Money is no object, I'm sure Miss Brown and her Raticate would enjoy a nice three-course meal at a good restaurant after that battle this morning."_

"Sure?" The chestnut-head asked. "Okay, then. I'm fine with that."

Seeing the blondie and Rodent so excited about shopping amused Amethyst, who was gladly taking Riley's hand as she stood up. She smiled at him and nodded, as saying "thank you".

_A while later…_

A few minutes later, they were already at the commercial zone in Oreburgh. The whistles of the miners around them were constant, and some of them even stared at them -both Stephanie and Amethyst- as angry wolves.

"Oh, my." Amethyst muttered, blushing, while Riley stepped near her. "This is so... awkward."

The tiny woman wasn't used to that kind of situations; she barely got compliments about her looks, after all. She looked away everytime a miner stared directly at her.

However, Stephanie seemed happier than ever.

"Ms. Brown, don't point up people, please." Amethyst muttered, still blushing. "It's kind of rude."

"_Or that guy... Or that guy... Or that guy."_

"Okay, I get it. I get it..." The purple-eyed woman sighed, uncomfortable.

She flinched as they discovered the pink-haired miner was actually Serena Joy, who seemed to be in a bad mood, as usually.

While Riley and Stephanie were surprised at Serena's hairstyle, Amethyst actually liked it.

"But you look pretty cute with that hairstyle." She told the Joy.

Maybe her clothes didn't really fit her, since they were probably Roark's, but it was refreshing seeing her with those two loops. Which wasn't so refreshing was seeing her fighting with Stephanie. It already seemed like a tradition.

Amethyst listened to Serena's explanation in silence.

"_You'd better dress a little more conservatively, Amethyst. These guys on their lunch break are notorious flirts."_

Amethyst looked down, ashamed. First, the miners whistling at her, now, Serena telling she dressed revealingly. Amethyst felt like a slut for a moment.

"Oh, sorry." The chestnut-head said. "I still had some of the heat from the mines in my body, so I didn't put my jacket-"

Amethyst shut her mouth when she suddenly noticed Riley putting his jacket around her shoulders. The woman's blush became more intense.

"_Let's… start walking. Try to find the shop you need first, Amethyst."_

Why was Riley acting like that, anyway? So he was already treating her like a younger sister -Amethyst thought, upset. Hadn't he told her she was too young, after all? Meh, just don't think about it too much.

She didn't move, listening to Serena and Stephanie's conversation, and surprised at the fact that they weren't arguing.

For the first time that day, the beautiful blue-eyed woman seemed interested in what had happened to them.

"_We almost died in the mines. Riley and Amy got some waifu time together,"_

"_Really? What happened?"_

"Oh- umh, well... a wild Onix appeared while we were training." Amethyst explained, kind of nervous. "It wanted to attack Ms. Brown, and Riley and I protected her..."

She then remembered how Riley had asked her to keep walking just a few minutes before, when he was covering her shoulders.

"Umh, can we... keep walking as we talk?" Amethyst asked, starting to walk again.

"So- well, mmh, Stephanie and Lucario managed to escape," She kept explaining as the group walked. "but Raticate, Riley and I were trapped amongst the rocks."

"Riley... protected me." Amethyst added, blushing. "I would have been smashed by a rock if he hadn't saved me."

"Raticate helped us to break through the rocks, and then," The purple-eyed woman looked at Stephanie. "Ms. Brown arrived along with Roark to take us out from the cave."

"Roark didn't seem very angry about the catastrophe but, anyway, we apologize for all the problems we caused."

Amethyst bowed, as apologizing to Serena. She lived with Roark, after all, so she could be bothered about the accident as well.

They got into the Poké Mart. Amethyst handed Stephanie some money and pointed at certain shelves.

"There." She pointed. "See the X-Defense? I already gave you a few full restores, so there's no need to buy potions... And look! There you can see the pink bow and the silk scarf, next to the storefront! Buy one of them if you want. However, I insist, they could be very useful."

"Serena, Riley and I will be waiting here."

**- N -**

"I don't know," Serena added dubiously, touching her hair, "I only keep it like this so the other Joys don't rat on me to my parents."

She looked shiftily from side to side, as if suspecting a distant cousin from the Joy clan to be hiding behind a pillar.

"My parents don't entirely approve of my life decisions," She mumbled low enough for Brown not to hear. "They'd rather I be like all of the other reindeer."

"Well I for one love Rudolph," Riley teased, keeping an arm protectively on his jacket, now firmly around Amethyst's shoulders. "You should be proud of your individuality,"

"Individuality isn't in their vocabulary – 'dissention' and 'stubborn' are."

She sighed, seemingly sinking deeper into the folds of Roark's too-big clothes as her misery wrapped itself around her. Eventually nothing but her long, straight nose stuck out from the collar of Roark's grey jacket.

Her blue eyes stared enraptured as Amy recounted the story of what happened before at the mine. She cast the occasional glance at Brown as Amy explained the Onyx's aggression to the blonde trainer.

She arched her brow, wondering just what the girl had done to earn the ire of her Audino and that Onyx. Maybe she was just plain annoying to both people and pokemon.

Serena watched the girl steal Riley's hat, balancing it on the tip of her nose, clapping and making 'urp, urp' noises like a Spheal. Eventually the fedora toppled off her face and onto the ground – Brown hastily picked it up and guiltily dusted it off before returning it, hopefully unnoticed, to the blue-haired man's head.

Oh, yes, Brown was annoying. It wasn't that hard to imagine.

As they walked past a bakery and then a boutique, Serena felt her cheeks burn at Amy and Riley's intimacy in the caverns. Arceus knew how many times she'd wanted Roark to do that to her…

She quickly snapped back to reality as she noticed the purple-eyed woman bowing to her.

_"Roark didn't seem very angry about the catastrophe but, anyway, we apologize for all the problems we caused."_

Serena nodded, wondering whether she was supposed to bow back. They certainly never did anything like this ins Unova. Oh, no, not when a simple handshake would suffice. She darted a sidelong glance at Brown and Riley, both of whom seemed perfectly comfortable with the gesture.

Stiffly, Serena bowed back.

"Uhh, it's no problem," She straightened. "If Roark's alright with it, it really isn't that big a deal. Besides, a cave-in might help stop people from going too deep in the mine tomorrow night. It's dangerous deep in the caverns."

"W-what's deeper in the caverns?" Brown looked about afraid.

"Wolves," Serena muttered, a hint of malice edging her voice, "Just the metaphorical kind," She added, noticing Riley stiffen.

They now reached the PokeMart, as Amy pointed out the items Brown needed. The girl looked hesitantly at the money in her hand.

"Miss Amy… I really can't accept this," She admitted. "I have my own money – my parents gave me a debit card. I really shouldn't be taking yours."

Eventually, the blonde wound her way around the shop, whistling to herself as she did. She picked up items like a farmer would his apples from the tree – with deliberation and thought, but never scrimping, quantity-wise.

While Riley remained close to Amy, Serena moved quietly to the back of the shop, where they kept the toys. She browsed through the collection of dolls, stopping at the Rampardos. With a sense of sentimentality, she picked up the doll, squeaking its rotund belly.

The sound snapped Brown's head towards her, and in seconds the Blonde was waltzing to Amy with a Rampardos toy of her own. Her arms were full of assorted X-Defenses and seeds for growing berries in Berry Pots, but her few remaining fingers held tight and brandished the doll.

"Hey, Amy," Brown bit her lip coyly, "look what I found?"

She squeaked the doll again. Riley raised an eyebrow quizzically.

"I wonder why they sell these in PokeMarts," Brown murmured, "what would a trainer need with a doll?"

"They're escape items, Stephanie," Riley answered. "Normally trainers use the one shaped like Clefairy to run away from wild Pokemon… or something of the sort… Amethyst can explain it better." He nodded to the item specialist.

"Serena seems awfully fond of the Rampardos ones." Brown looked at the toy in her hands. "Wonder what she'd be trying to run away from, though."

**- J -**

"_Miss Amy… I really can't accept this, I have my own money – my parents gave me a debit card. I really shouldn't be taking yours."_

"Oh, you're so lucky you have your VERY own debit card!" Amethyst exclaimed, shaking her long eyelashes. "It sucks that I have to rely on my brother..."

The purple-eyed woman took the money back from the teenager, silently thanking her for that because Amethyst was, actually, quite poor at the moment.

"Happy shopping, then."

Amethyst stayed near Riley, an awkward silence between the two of them as soon as Serena left to have a look at the toys.

"_Should I tell him something?_" She thought, nervous. "_If so, what should I tell him?_"

However, she didn't have to think for too long, since the squeak from Serena's toy caught her attention.

"Oh! Pokédolls!" Amethyst exclaimed, approaching Serena. "I had _never _seen a Rampardos one!"

Well, she had definitely seen one, but Amethyst was one to lie just to stay away from troubles and misunderstandings.

It didn't take long for Stephanie to come back with Amethyst with another toy.

"It's so cute!" The chestnut-head exclaimed, squeaking the toy's belly as soon as the teen handed it to her. "Oh, by the way, you should go pay those items first. You're too close to the exit and the shop assistant might think you want to steal them..."

...Or Amethyst might want to worry a bit less. Even she sometimes believed she worried too much.

"_I wonder why they sell these in PokeMarts, what would a trainer need with a doll?"_

"_They're escape items, Stephanie. Normally trainers use the one shaped like Clefairy to run away from wild Pokemon… or something of the sort… Amethyst can explain it better."_

Amethyst nodded.

"Yeah, they're called pokédolls." She explained to the brown-eyed girl. "The most popular ones were Clefairy-shaped, but because of all the popular demand... Well, that's not what interests you."

"If a trainer can't afford a battle against a wild pokémon, they can always use a pokédoll." Amethyst said. "Wild pokémon get distracted with pokédolls, and that gives the trainer a chance to escape -that's how they work!"

The short woman rubbed her head, snorting nostalgically.

"I've lost count of how MANY times I used pokédolls back when I was an unexperienced trainer." She added, smiling.

"_Serena seems awfully fond of the Rampardos ones. Wonder what she'd be trying to run away from, though."_

"Oh, I don't think is anything complicated." Amethyst said, always going for the most simple thing. "I just think... hehe, that they remind her of Roark, and that's why she loves Rampardos toys so much."

Anyway, she couldn't stop thinking about the Rampardos toy they'd seen back in the cavern... Then again, being Roark the Gym Leader of that town, Rampardos-related items should be very popular in Oreburgh, shouldn't they...?

"Now, just go to pay that stuff." Amethyst told the younger girl, pointing at the items she'd bought. "I want to get out from this shop, it's hot here."

"Specially... with this jacket." Amethyst added, referring to Riley's jacket over her shoulders.

Anyhow, she had chosen her softest tone just so Riley didn't get upset. Things were quite good (more or less) between them at the moment, and she didn't want to ruin it.

"Hey, Serena," Amethyst said to the woman near her. "well, first of all, sorry for dragging you into this, but it's very nice of you to accompany us."

"We're getting out of here now. Do you want to keep looking at the toys or will you go out with us?"

Deep inside her, Amethyst was worried that her excessive politeness could make Serena feel awkward...

The purple-eyed woman opened the PokéMart's door, unable to handle the heat inside the tiny shop. Just when she opened the door, she saw a girl with a Chingling on her head passing by the PokéMarket.

"Ah...!"

She was taller than Amethyst, but not so busty as Stephanie. Her body was thin and curvy, but it didn't seem rachitic and weak, like Amethyst's body did. And even though she had an elegant figure, her steps were determined, even kind of boyish.

"Morganite!" Amethyst exclaimed. "Long time no see!"

The girl's shifty, light blue eyes looked at Amethyst, her light silver hair with purple highlights shining elegantly.

"Amethyst? Amy?" Morganite asked. "How come you're not with your bro?"

"We parted ways." Amethyst answered. "We're old enough to have our own journeys, hehe."

Amethyst turned her head to Riley and the group, but her words were mostly adressed to Riley.

"Remember Pink?" She asked him. "Well, Morganite's her sister-in-law; yes, Kyanite's sister. You do remember him too, right?"

Morganite was staring at the group in silence. Serena Joy, dressed in men clothes, definitely caught her attention.

"Mmh, how come you're here in Sinnoh again, Amy?" The girl asked.

"Well, our previous visit was too rushed." Amethyst explained, remembering their visit to Sinnoh from eight years ago. "I wanted to enjoy this region better, now that my brother isn't with me."

"Haha, I see." Morganite laughed. "I had my own journey across Kanto two years ago. And, this year, it's time to cross MY own region! I've come to Oreburgh this week since the Miner's Dance is tomorrow."

"Oh! That's why I came to Oreburgh too!" Amethyst exclaimed. "Oh, and I'm joining the Dance too!"

Which reminded her that she didn't have a partner yet.

"And... have you already found... well, you know, a partner? Hehe" The chestnut-head asked, giggling.

It was then when Morganite realized that Amethyst hadn't change anything. She was still dumb when it came to love issues.

"Why, yes." The teenager nodded, serenely.

"Really? Whoa!"

"Why are you so worked up, anyway?" Morganite raised an eyebrow.

"Mmh, well... y' know... they say that your... partner will be your 'true love' ever, and-"

"That's bullshit!" Morganite interrupted the nervous woman. "I just want that guy for the Dance (I'd hate to go alone, duh), and that's it. And he thinks the same, so..."

"Eh, umh..." Amethyst stuttered. "But how could you...?"

"Sigh, _Amethyst_, you're still the same." The silver-head mumbled. "Don't act as if I was weird now. Pink was the same when she was my age, remember?"

The purple-eyed woman blinked, without knowing what to say.

"You're the weird one here, Amy." Morganite pointed at Amethyst. "Since the early age of 16, you started to waste your time clinging to ONLY one man. How could you waste your adolescence like that?"

That's it. Morganite knew Riley although they'd never met. But Pink and Kyanite had, and they'd told Morganite about Amethyst's infatuation on him.

"B-but..." Amethyst stuttered, her face bright red.

Riley was right behind her and he'd heard everything. EVERYTHING. That was the most embarrassing moment for Amethyst, definitely.

"I-I..." The chestnut-head kept suttering. "It's not... I just-"

"Meh, it's okay, don't force yourself." Morganite said, shaking her head in disapproval. "Well, I hafta go, guys. See ya at the Dance, I guess!"

Morganite left, and the next five seconds that followed her departure were filled with a tense silence.

Finally, Amethyst turned back to Riley and the group.

"Ummh, well…" She muttered. "Don't take her wrong, please… She's actually a nice girl, and she was adorable when she was younger, really…"


	21. CHAPTER 021: A silverhaired badass!

- N - = Nicky's part

- J - = my part

**Chapter 021 - A silver-haired badass!**

**- N -**

Riley kept quiet as Amy seemed to shift uneasily next to him – what was she thinking about? Was he making her uncomfortable?

He held his hands together, twiddling his fingers under his gloves. The silence between them felt as awkward and thick as a brick wall.

It didn't last long, though – not when Brown was walking back with a Rampardos doll. As Amy began to explain what a pokedoll was, Riley thought quietly: Serena had used the doll to escape from the Zoroark, no doubt. While she did seem to love the creature, the odds were that it wasn't always tame. He recalled the vision where Serena had tried to stand up against it, the panic in her face, the raw feral look in the beast's eyes…

He looked grim. The beast was a danger – and as much as Serena wanted to keep it safe, she couldn't always control it.

But… why did she want to protect it so much? After it had tried to kill her, why was she risking everything to hide it from him?

He noticed Amy was looking flushed – the room was getting too warm for her. Instantly, he felt terrible for saddling her with his jacket, but then remembered the miners outside the door and decided it was best she kept it on – for the sake of his pride, at least.

Without a word, he walked with her out of the shop – and right before a familiar-looking young woman.

She was about Stephanie Brown's age, and even seemed tall enough to match the blonde in height (something Amethyst, he noted coyly, had yet to do). There was a sense of dramatic elegance in the way she carried herself, a world away from how Amethyst hid herself under her clothes, and tried hard not to be noticed.

There was something nagging familiar about the shade of her silvery hair. He'd seen her before. Her aura felt all-too familiar. The lingering sense of déjà vu about her was driving him quite mad. Who was she? And why was Amethyst so shocked to see her?

_"Remember Pink? Well, Morganite's her sister-in-law; yes, Kyanite's sister. You do remember him too, right?"_

Ah. That explained it. So, Kyanite had married Red's sister? Would wonders never cease?

"A pleasure," Riley doffed his hat in a dapper fashion, a genuinely coy smile gracing his features. He must have looked quite dashing, as Stephanie Brown made a little enamoured 'oh!' as she exited the store to join them.

"I'm Riley," He extended a warm gloved hand to shake. "I was with your brother and Pink at the Sinnoh Battle Frontier several years ago. Kyanite was a wonderful conversationalist, if I remember correctly."

He couldn't quite say the same for Pink. While his memory of Amy and her friends had diminished considerably, he vaguely recalled feeling the most ghastly sort of annoyance at the young woman's general enthusiasm. It made him, if he recalled properly, be thankful that it was Amy who had fallen for him then, and not her.

How Kyanite had the wherewithal to tolerate Pink long enough to marry her was beyond him.

Brown took the opportunity to sit on a railing and shove her purchases into her bag. She kept a respectful distance from the Chingling trainer; she wasn't going to risk getting attacked twice in one day.

Rodent, however, thought otherwise. He scampered towards Amethyst and her friend, crawling up Riley's jacket and rested himself squarely on the purple-eyed trainer's shoulders.

"Rarr?" He tilted his head curiously to a side, looking at the strange little bell Pokemon. Both he and Brown had never seen anything quite like it; then again, Brown wasn't the sort to be interested in any other pokemon but him. "Rrrricate?"

He sniffed the tiny golden bell experimentally.

"Rodent," Brown laughed, picking her way to the front to get a good look at the silver-haired trainer. "Rodent, don't scare it!" She kept a safe distance, however, still prepared to run just in case the bell pokemon had a taste for flesh.

She wasn't sure whether she was supposed to introduce herself like Riley had – it was plain to see Morganite was busy with Amy.

_"Mmh, well... y' know... they say that your... partner will be your 'true love' ever, and-"_

_"That's bullshit! I just want that guy for the Dance (I'd hate to go alone, duh), and that's it. And he thinks the same, so..."_

Brown giggled, only to find Serena Joy behind her, her arms crossed over her chest.

The girl, Morganite, had given her a dastardly look as she noticed her oversized attire – Serena didn't flinch, instead choosing to wear her most intense glare and gun the silver-haired teen down slowly with it. Brown winced. The pink-haired woman looked fierce enough to melt metal, but Morganite stayed calm regardless.

"Don't knock tradition," Serena snarled, her Unovvian accent sounding very out of place in the little group. "I like to believe that the First Dance really does have some sort of magic to it; I'd be heartbroken if someone I knew danced with someone else tomorrow night, that's for sure."

Did she mean Roark? Stephanie looked at Serena, hoping for a hint from the pink-haired woman. However, Serena's uncompromising stature gave noting away. If she really did love Roark, she wasn't about to admit it.

_"You're the weird one here, Amy. Since the early age of 16, you started to waste your time clinging to ONLY one man. How could you waste your adolescence like that?"_

Serena said nothing more, but Riley seemed somewhat shaken by the development. His mouth was gently agape, hanging loose, with the beginnings of a smile at the edges. Both Brown and Serena stared at the couple with an odd curiosity – to love a man for more than eight years… that took diligence.

"Amethyst…" He began, disbelief cracking at his voice. He was cut short by the silver-haired girl's sudden departure.

_"Meh, it's okay, don't force yourself. Well, I hafta go, guys. See ya at the Dance, I guess!"_

Brown watched her go, nodding with approval.

"I like her," She smiled. "She's feisty!"

"At least somebody does," Serena looked at Morganite's figure disappearing into the mall. "She's so rude."

_"Ummh, well… Don't take her wrong, please… She's actually a nice girl, and she was adorable when she was younger, really…"_

"It's alright, Amethyst! I understand," Riley laughed. Rodent skittered off Amy's shoulders, allowing him some room to rest his arm gratefully on his jacket. "She's an interesting person. I'm looking forward to seeing her at the Dance tomorrow night."

Brown seemed anxious. "I wanna say hi to her," She admitted. "Think I should go after her, Miss Amy?"

Riley chewed his lip. "Well… I do want to take you both somewhere right now," He admitted. "You need dresses for tomorrow night, and a tailor I know in the mall wouldn't mind doing a fitting for you and Amethyst here."

"I can always meet you there later," The blonde answered. "I have never never never seen another trainer my age for ages!"

"If you do leave, that'll just leave me and Amethyst." He noted, before realising he'd been thinking out loud.

Serena stepped in, "If you're going to a tailor's, I'll come with you," She still carried her garment back slung over her arm. "I need to get my dress fixed, too."

**- J -**

Morganite looked at Serena with disdain as the Joy sermonized her about the Dance.

"_Don't knock tradition, I like to believe that the First Dance really does have some sort of magic to it; I'd be heartbroken if someone I knew danced with someone else tomorrow night, that's for sure."_

"_As if._" Morganite thought, giving Serena a last glare before turning back to Amethyst again.

That's what happened when two hot-blooded women collided. But Morganite, as much as she might be blunt and needlessly sincere, wasn't one who liked to pick up fights.

She was too busy clearing things up for Amethyst, anyway. Raised with an older brother by her side, Morganite was a girl that never showed mercy for anyone.

"_This is TERRIBLE!_" Amethyst was thinking, while she stuttered, without know what to say to Morganite. "_Riley's hearing EVERYTHING! Ms. Brown and Serena too, but I don't know if they know who's Morganite referring to..._"

Morganite left, but that didn't ease Amethyst's pain.

However, she was her best friend's sister-in-law, and she had to do as much as possible to get along with her. That's why she defended her when Serena criticized her.

"_It's alright, Amethyst! I understand. She's an interesting person. I'm looking forward to seeing her at the Dance tomorrow night."_

Amethyst flickered, confused, when Riley rested his hands on her shoulders. Why did he seem to be in SUCH a good mood? Morganite had poked fun at her, and yet he seemed as good-natured as usually. Wasn't he even angry...?

...or ashamed? Because she was sure that Riley knew that Morganite had referred to him.

"_I wanna say hi to her. Think I should go after her, Miss Amy?"_

Oh. Oh, it was so obvious that Stephanie would want to get along with Morganite. Just, how much of a good idea would be if these two got together?

Anyway, Amethyst didn't even have time to reply, as Riley continued with the conversation.

"_Well… I do want to take you both somewhere right now. You need dresses for tomorrow night, and a tailor I know in the mall wouldn't mind doing a fitting for you and Amethyst here."_

"_I can always meet you there later."_

"_Oh, no!_" Amethyst thought, in panic.

She didn't feel like staying with Riley alone. At least, not at that moment, when the shame was so recent. Thanks goodness Serena told them she would go with them!

"Okay, okay." Amethyst said, notoriously overwhelmed. "First of all, Riley, didn't you say you would take us to that place tonight?"

It hadn't be very difficult to find out that the "surprise" he'd mentioned that morning would be the dresses for the Dance.

"Not that I mind whether we go now or tonight," Amethyst hastened to add. "because I'm cool with it if we go now. But when are we going to have lunch?"

Although she didn't want to admit it, Amethyst was starving. And all the plans seemed so rushed to her, being quite a calmed woman.

She looked at Morganite's figure in the distance and remembered Stephanie's enthusiasm about getting to know her better.

"O-okay... Go." The purple-eyed trainer said to the teen, pointing at Morganite's faraway figure. "But don't... don't get too distracted, we have to have lunch in... a while."

Amethyst wasn't certain about what were they going to do at that moment. She certainly preferred to go shopping at the evening but... then again, going shopping just before Stephanie's match against Roark sounded quite ridiculous.

"Oh, and don't worry about her pokémon." Amethyst added, recalling the Brown Effect, just before Stephanie left. "She's not a very experienced trainer yet."

As soon as the blondie left, Amethyst started to worry about Brown asking Morganite to go have lunch with them. But oh, well.

Amethyst turned to Serena and Riley, still a light blush on her face. At least, she had now a grown up woman to cling to, no matter how rude she was...

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Morganite turned her head back when she heard some rushed steps behind her.

"Cling!" Chingling exclaimed.

"Oh, you are friends with Amy, aren't you?" Morganite asked. "Mmh, what do you want?"

The same way Stephanie didn't care about the minners drooling at her, Morganite seemed to think the same.

**- N -**

"I'm Stephanie Brown," the blonde girl introduced herself, scratching her shoe against the back of her leg in slight apprehension. Amy had told her not be afraid of Morganite's Chingling, but still, it helped to keep a respectful distance.

"I'm a dexholder from Jhoto," She smiled.

_"Oh, you are friends with Amy, aren't you? Mmh, what do you want?"_

Brown felt a bead of awkward sweat run down her head. Morganite was nothing like Amethyst, but she wasn't entirely like her either – there was a calm sense of reservation in her, like she was self-assured in everything she did.

Superiority wasn't something Stephanie had much of – not when she was the whipping bitch to every creature in the pokedex.

"Yeah…" Brown chewed the inside of her cheek. "Mmmyeah, about that… I just wanted to say 'hey' and…"

"Raticate!" Rodent chirruped on her shoulders.

"Right, and this is Rodent," She gestured to the fluffy brown rat, beaming with pride to show him off. "And he and I have… hm…" She rustled through her many layers of clothes (with were plentiful, especially with Amy's jacket) before finding her vest and peeling it open to display her Viridian Gym badge and the Canalave one under it. They gleamed in the fluorescent light of the mall.

"He and I have two whole badges!" She grinned, her smile stretching well across her face. "Pretty awesome, huh?"

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

_"Not that I mind whether we go now or tonight, because I'm cool with it if we go now. But when are we going to have lunch?"_

"Oh, Arceus! You're obviously hungry," Serena looked concerned. "Look at you, Amy, you're blanched!"

She laid a worried hand on her forehead, as if to check for any lingering trauma on the russet-haired woman. She might never have become a nurse, but Serena was at least as worried about a patient as any other Joy in her extended family.

Riley, however knew otherwise. It wasn't just hunger gnawing at Amethyst, oh no, this was far too complicated. It was mixture of fear, shame, of red-faced self-loathing and, oddly enough, regret. He felt it radiating off her body in waves if anguished aura.

Quietly, he removed his arm off her shoulders, opting instead to hold her hand in his, rubbing his thumb soothingly over her knuckles.

"Are you alright?" He whispered gently, looking her in the eyes. Morganite had mortally wounded her pride, no doubt, but still he was far too elated with the young woman's revelation to care.

Amethyst wanted him. Amethyst wanted him.

And he'd do his best to reciprocate.

"If you don't want to go get your dress just yet, don't," He said again, softly. "That last thing I want to do is force you into doing something you don't want to." He kept his grip on her hand loose, unwilling to herd her into an emotional corner. He didn't want to – couldn't – force her to love him.

"I have a plan," Serena cleared her throat, sounding slightly uncomfortable with the affection before her. "How about I take Amy for a snack first? You can go get your tux done up first – and if Stephanie goes to the tailors to look for you, you can tell her Amy and I are at The Reynardine. It's the biggest one in the basement, you can't miss it,"

"That sounds… alright to me," Riley admitted before turning to Amy, "Are you okay with this?"

"Trust me," Serena grabbed Amy by her shoulder and pulled doggedly until Riley's fingers slipped away from her hand. "She'll love it,"

_A few minutes later…_

She didn't speak a word until they got to the escalator, looking occasionally behind her shoulder to look at Riley, who was now a rapidly disappearing dark blue figure.

"He likes you," Serena simply noticed. "You should grab him – not every guy tries half as hard as he does," She added wistfully, as if regretting something herself.

She kept quiet, though, as if lost in her thoughts.

"Riley'll probably bring that Stephanie kid to meet us in a while. Till then, we really need to feed you – you look so small," She said with a chuckle. Truth be told, Serena was unnaturally tall – skinny, svelte and nearly Roark's height –standing next to her dwarfed Amy in comparison. The extent of her brown hair merely grazed Serena's shoulders.

"Come on," Serena led the other trainer the moment their feet touched the basement floor. "There's a great restaurant I know,"

The Reynardine was a grand affair, taking up a third of the basement with plush red seats and velvet curtains. A brass band was playing, their sound wafting through the door. The miners kept to the diners upstairs – no one would shell out for a four-star restaurant for their lunch break.

Serena always felt that guests lent an exception to any social rule.

She paused at the outside of the restaurant, where a sandwich board labeled 'Today's Special' in gold lettering told them the Borsch was the best in all out West Sinnoh. The signboard spelled out 'Reynardine' in neat gold foil above the image of a dark jumping fox creature. A statue of the creature was carved from black Oreburgh stone and reared, snarling at them, by the door. In the celebratory mood of the Miner's Dance, someone had put a red miner's hardhat on his head, tilted at a jaunty angle. It was disturbingly comical.

Serena stepped back, carefully looking at the creature, from its sleek dark body to the mane of fur that trailed from its head, tied up with a dark velvet band. "Hmmm…" She rubbed her lips with a curious finger, before extracting a pair of glasses from the inside of her (well, Roark's) jacket.

She tiptoed and perched the glasses on the beast's nose, just under the hardhat, and smiled at her handiwork.

"Kinda looks like Roark, now, huh?" She laughed. "Don't tell him I did that and he'll never know where his reading spectacles went."

With a conspiratorial wink, she pulled Amy into the restaurant.

They were seated by a suited waitress under a mural of the fox-like creature running with a smug expression from a pack of snarling Lucario.

"There's a funny story behind this restaurant," Serena nodded. "Roark told it to me – he doesn't come here often, but, well, I like it here."

She cleared her throat, "Stop me if I bore, you, alright? Well, this place's still fairly new – it's only been running for… about twenty years. There's an old urban legend in Oreburgh about a black fox creature that used to haunt the moors around here, and it'd take the form of a beautiful young woman to seduce young men and eat them."

Serena laughed incredulously. "Well, frankly all I think the beast wanted was some fun, but, well, most everyone was terrified of it. It wasn't until an Aura Guardian came into town and fought it with his Lucario that it vanished and never came back.

"Well, that's the story – but don't take my word for it, Byron can tell it to you better. He was still Gym Leader when it happened, and pretty young, around Roark's age," She noted. "Someone went and made this restaurant about the beast, and it's still pretty popular with folks who like the legend… like me. Roark hates it, but he's got good reason to."

A waiter served them both glasses of wine, which Serena swirled about absentmindedly. "I mean, I know where he's coming from… His mother disappeared around the same time, and he wasn't even old enough to open his eyes." She lowered her voice, "Don't tell anyone I told you that – Roark sleeptalks – he doesn't think I know."

The brass band began playing a new song, it sounded a little like bugle music just before a thrilling hunt.

"There's supposed to be sightings of the beast again," Serena sipped her wine. "But it's all just rumors, don't let them fool you."


	22. CHAPTER 022: Girls talk!

- N - = Nicky's part

- J - = my part

**Chapter 022 - Girls talk!**

**- J -**

Morganite arched an eyebrow while the blonde girl in front of her stuttered. She exchanged incredulous glances with her Chingling as Stephanie looked for something inside her (multiple) layers of clothes.

"_He and I have two whole badges! Pretty awesome, huh?"_

The blue-eyed girl laughed, but it wasn't an offensive laugh, just amused.

"Well, well," Morganite said. "if that Raticate is the only pokémon you have, then I guess it IS awesome!"

Morganited leaned over Stephanie too have a better look at Rodent, still somewhat amused.

"Rodent, isn't it?" She asked. "This is my Chingling, Campanilla."

"Chin! Chin!" Campanilla sang.

"I have other four pokémon." Morganite added. "A Gorebyss, a Banette, a Torkoal and a Nuzleaf. All of them female, of course."

She had no idea why she was telling a stranger all that. Well, maybe because the younger girl seemed to want to open herself to her. Morganite showed Stephanie a case with six badges.

"When I was to Kanto, I earned six badges." She explained. "I'll try to catch more pokémon so I can earn more badges from Sinnoh."

"I'm not one of those trainers who wants to compete at the League and blabla," Morganite added. "but I want to become a strong trainer, and the best way is defeating the Gym Leaders, isn't it?"

However, there was something that Stephanie had which Morganite herself hadn't.

"So, you said you're from those new Dexholders, uh?" The silver-head asked. "Interesting! My sister-in-law is from the old Kanto Dexholders... I never had interest in a pokédex, but my bro... Heh, my bro used to be obsessed with meeting ALL the Dexholders -he thinks they're something like Gods, you see."

Morganite laughed, remembering her brother. He was a pretty nice guy, but very odd in some facts.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Amethyst, a silly expression on her face, was open-mouthed as Serena touched her forehead and Riley held her hand. How had the Joy noticed her hunger? And anyway, why were they so worried? It wasn't like she was dying or something.

"I'm okay..." Amethyst muttered, in a hardly-noticeable tone. "Really, I am... I'm just hungry! I'm not dying, you see."

She avoided Riley's eyes as much as she could. It was all so... awkward. She felt as uncomfortable (if not more) as Serena, but the chestnut-head decided to hide it. Riley was caring about her, and she didn't want to ruin it...

"_I have a plan. How about I take Amy for a snack first? You can go get your tux done up first – and if Stephanie goes to the tailors to look for you, you can tell her Amy and I are at The Reynardine. It's the biggest one in the basement, you can't miss it."_

...Well, maybe she needed a small break from seeing him.

"I'm okay with that." Amethyst said, thankful.

Getting separated from Riley was kind of painful, but she definitely would need it. They had been together since... last night? She needed some time to vent -all the tension wasn't making her any good.

"See you later." Amethyst muttered as Serena took her away.

_A while later…_

"_He likes you. You should grab him – not every guy tries half as hard as he does."_

Amethyst flickered. After those few minutes of silence between the two women until they got to the escalator, why was the Joy saying that? And why was she sighing? Maybe she needed to vent about something, too? No matter how hard it was to believe, Serena was a woman, after all.

However, Amethyst remained silent.

"_Come on, there's a great restaurant I know."_

"Cool."

The small woman looked around, her purple eyes resting on every detail of that place. The detail of the band playing was something that really attracted Amethyst. The statue in front of them was quite... strange. It looked like a fox, or something like that.

Anyway, seeing Serena putting Roark's glasses on the statue was something that really made Amethyst feel awkward.

"_Kinda looks like Roark, now, huh? Don't tell him I did that and he'll never know where his reading spectacles went."_

"Eh... uh, are you comparing Roark to a fox?" Amethyst asked, scratching her head. "Mmmh... cool..."

Well, as much as Amethyst found the comparison weird, it wouldn't do her any good to act silly in front of Serena -Amethyst wanted the Joy to like her, after all. If she managed to get along with the stubborn woman, Amethyst could count it as one of her greatest success.

"Oh! A Lucario?" The chestnut-head asked, looking at the mural.

More strange things, indeed.

"_There's a funny story behind this restaurant, Roark told it to me – he doesn't come here often, but, well, I like it here."_

Amethyst payed attention to the story in polite silence. She felt cold air behind her neck when Serena mentioned that the black creature ate the men. First, a pokémon that eats other pokémon and then, a creature that ate men? That day was all about eating, uh? - or that's what Amethyst believed.

"An Aura Guardian?" The purple-eyed woman asked. "Like Riley! How cool! Could it be... one of his ancestors? That would be so awesome..."

Amethyst didn't know a thing about Sir Aaron, truth be told. She dreamed happily about a Riley-looking ancient Aura Guardian until the pink-haired woman mentioned Roark's story.

"Oh, I'm so sorry." Amethyst said, looking down. "I always wondered what happened to his mother, since he never mentions her... I feel sorry for him, and his father too."

The small woman took a sip of wine, listening to the Joy's advice. She couldn't stop noticing that Serena was always trying to make people forget about the Zoroark incident. it was too... noticeable to be ignored.

But what Amethyst wanted to do (at least, before Brown arrived because that would set Serena on fire again) was to strengthen bonds with Serena. And even though Serena seemed to want to avoid the Zoroark issue badly, it was obvious that she was trying to open herself to Amethyst as well.

Which meant the world coming from a woman like Serena.

"Well, at least Roark has you." Amethyst finally said, after planning carefully her words. "He's a responsible guy, but too focused on his work, as I'd heard. But you keep him balanced. That's so cute!"

Amethyst then remembered how Serena had said before that Riley liked her. She felt more confident, so she wanted to move onto that topic again, but...! Maybe it'd be a better idea if she showed interest in Serena.

"I was surprised to see that you and Roark were living together." Amethyst added, after taking another sip of wine. "But, truth be told, you two make a cute couple, hehe. As I said, you two balance each other, and... Well."

"How did you two meet, anyway? You don't even seem to come from Sinnoh, after all."

**- N -**

_"Rodent, isn't it? This is my Chingling, Campanilla."_

Experimentally, Rodent reached out a paw and took the Chingling by one of its short, trailing chords, shaking it like he would a hand.

"Rrrarr?" Rodent tilted his head to a side, sniffing the creature curiously.

"Hey there, Campanilla," Brown waved, looking up past her Raticate leaning over her head. "You're pretty cute."

She listened to Morganite explain her team – all of whom were, oddly enogh, female.

"You're on a girl-power empowerment shtick there?" She laughed. "I can't afford to be choosy myself – Rodent's all I got…"

Her mouth dropped to see, not two, or three, but six badges in Morganite's case. Six whole badges! Brown stared at them stupefied.

_"I'm not one of those trainers who wants to compete at the League and blabla, but I want to become a strong trainer, and the best way is defeating the Gym Leaders, isn't it?"_

"Funny," Brown laughed. "I'm trying to beat gym leaders to show how strong I am, but I do want to fight in the league tournament, too. My parents are in the league this year and Rodent and I are going to beat them."

"Raticate!" Rodent nodded furiously. "Rarriticate!"

She raised a hand to let the Raticate smack it in a high-five. "Awyeah!"

_"So, you said you're from those new Dexholders, uh? Interesting! My sister-in-law is from the old Kanto Dexholders... I never had interest in a pokédex, but my bro... Heh, my bro used to be obsessed with meeting ALL the Dexholders -he thinks they're something like Gods, you see."_

Brown looked puzzled. "You don't have one?" After all, Amy had had one, and Morgan knew Amy after all… But then again, the pokedex was rare. Oak had said so himself that all the Dexholders were hand-picked and talented in some way. "That's weird, you seem pretty capable. Why don't you want one?"

-x-x-x-x-x-

Serena watched Amy as she told her the story – it was nice to see someone as interested as her. Her cousins at the Pokemon Center had a general disinterest in mythology, and listened with blank expressions and a 'that's nice' until the next trainer showed up at their desks.

She noticed the disconcerted expression on the young woman's face.

"If it makes you feel any better, no one died, or vanished or, well, anything, while the beast was around." Serena noted. "Byron can attest to that. Oreburgh had a lot of livestock being eaten at the time, but never people. I think it was looking for men because it wanted someone to love… someone to understand her."

She looked at her reflection in the glass of wine.

_"An Aura Guardian? Like Riley! How cool! Could it be... one of his ancestors? That would be so awesome..."_

"He might," Serena nodded. "There aren't a lot of Aura users out there – well, they're plenty in Sinnoh, but in Unova you can't even find one!"

There was a dreamy look in her eye, Serena noticed, amused. Amy's own feelings for Riley were pretty obvious, especially since she could relate to them herself.

_"I always wondered what happened to his mother, since he never mentions her... I feel sorry for him, and his father too."_

"Well, I don't know much either," Serena admitted, "I do know she went missing around the time Roark was born, but that's just from listening to him in his sleep. Frankly, I'm afraid to ask him about it – I don't know how he feels about her."

The band was joined by a fiddler as they began another song. Serena gulped the last of her wine down and called for another glass.

_"Well, at least Roark has you."_

Serena nearly choked on the wine in her throat. She felt some of it rise back up and into her nose.

"What?" She gasped, before controlling herself. She felt a blush begin to grow on her face.

_"I was surprised to see that you and Roark were living together. But, truth be told, you two make a cute couple, hehe. As I said, you two balance each other, and... Well."_

"Well, I wouldn't call us a couple," Serena muttered, suddenly self-conscious. "I mean, sure, we live together and everything, but we don't… well, we're not dating. It's probably not what you think."

She smiled. "Roark and I, well, we're just good friends. I'm helping him through something he has a go through right now, but otherwise, I'm not… doing anything with him." A pause. "OhArceusthatsoundedsowrong!"

_"How did you two meet, anyway? You don't even seem to come from Sinnoh, after all."_

Glad to have something else to talk about, Serena rubbed her lips again.

"Well, I'm Unovian," She began, "and I'm still taking courses in Nacrene, but last year I took a year off and started living in Sinnoh… I like the myths here." She shrugged. "Eventually I wound up in Oreburgh and started bunking with cousins at the Pokemon Center, but my Sawsbuck…"

She paused for a moment, wondering how much she could divulge without sounding suspicious to the trainer. "My Sawsbuck was eaten. I only had my Audino, who really had no idea how to battle, so I couldn't go any further… so I was pretty much stranded in Oreburgh." She laughed. "Of course, the easy way out would be to call my parents to pick me up – they've got a Braviary – but I didn't want to. Call it stubbornness on my part, but the last thing I want to do is to rely on my family."

Serena leaned back in her seat. "Well, it took some searching, and a shotgun, but eventually I found what did it to my Sawsbuck. I tried to kill it, but Roark… well, long story short, Roark made me stop. He gave me a place to stay so I didn't have to freeload on my cousins… And we've been living together since." She stopped. She was running out of truth, now, and lying would only make her more suspicious. "I'm not planning on staying there. I have to go back to Nacrene at the end of the year, to finish up my course."

"Well, in hindsight, I'm glad things worked out the way they did. I probably wouldn't stop hating myself right now, if I'd shot the damned thing." She sighed.

"I'm sorry, I must be rambling." She looked at Amethyst. "It's just so much easier to talk to you than… well, that Stephanie kid."

As the band began to play what possibly part of the soundtrack to a famous movie, Serena flipped through the menu. "Which reminds me, Amy," She pondered. "How did you meet Stephanie or Riley?"

**- J -**

Seeing Rodent shaking 'hands' with Campanilla was something that made Morganite chuckle. That Stephanie kid was sure a good-natured trainer, and also funny!

"Cling!" Campanilla sang when the blondie called her cute.

"_You're on a girl-power empowerment shtick there?"_

"Why, of course!" Morganite exclaimed, haughtily.

She watched Stephanie and her Raticate highfiving full of confidence. Of course, having only one pokémon, the bonds between the two of them would be incredibly strong. But, for some reason, the teen seemed surprised when she heard that Morganite didn't have a pokédex.

"_You don't have one?" After all, Amy had had one, and Morgan knew Amy after all… But then again, the pokedex was rare. Oak had said so himself that all the Dexholders were hand-picked and talented in some way. "That's weird, you seem pretty capable. Why don't you want one?"_

"Hahaha!" Morganite laughed. "Gym Leaders and E4 members are also powerful trainers and they don't have pokédex, if you think about it! Being strong doesn't have to equal to having a pokédex'."

Campanilla nodded.

"Moreover," The silver-head added. "I don't need a device to prove I'm strong! I know Pink's bro, Red, who suffered a huge crisis just because he didn't have his pokédex. Don't you think it's pretty sad? Relying on a device like that..."

Morganite shook her head in disapproval. Sure, she got along very well with Red, but she would never forget the story Pink told her about Red's crisis nine years ago.

"If you are REALLY powerful," Morganite said, firmly. "you won't need a device to prove it. That's what I never liked from my bro -he thinks that having that device turns you into a God. And he doesn't even look at himself! Because he's very strong and doesn't have a pokédex either."

The blue-eyed lady realized that her rant was taking too long and cleared her throat.

"Enough." She said. "Hey, Steph, seeing your personality, I'm surprised that you're friends with Amy. She's so... uh, don't get me wrong, I'm fond of her, but she's always so serious, always trying to act correctly -so boring!"

Morganite scratched her head. Since she was young, she had always wondered how Pink was Amethyst's best friend if they were completely opposite.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

"_What an... interesting way to look for somebody to love._" Amethyst thought when Serena was explaining some details of the story to her.

It felt awkward talking to Serena after almost a whole day talking to Stephanie. The Joy was so correct, tidy and mature! Not to mention confident. Serena seemed like the type of woman Amethyst would trust enough after gaining a bit more of confidence.

"_...Roark and I, well, we're just good friends. I'm helping him through something he has a go through right now, but otherwise, I'm not.… doing anything with him... OhArceusthatsoundedsowrong!"_

Amethyst giggled. It was SO obvious that there was something going on there. Even for serious women like the two of them, hiding their feelings about their loved one was a very difficult thing to do. However, the pink-haired woman's words seemed sincere - maybe they weren't entirely a couple. But at least the 'crush part' was correct, at least on Serena's side.

"_Well, I'm Unovian, and I'm still taking courses in Nacrene..."_

"From Unova? That region you're always mentioning?" Amethyst asked, interested.

She listened to Serena's story, her fingers interlaced below her chin. Amethyst had travelled around Johto, Kanto, Hoenn and Sinnoh (somewhat), but she didn't know of any other region. Maybe Unova would be the next region to visit?

However, her expression turned more serious as Serena mentioned her poor Sawsbuck. Amethyst had no idea how a Sawsbuck looked, but she still felt very sad inside.

"_...but I didn't want to. Call it stubbornness on my part, but the last thing I want to do is to rely on my family."_

Amethyst frowned, slightly. Since the early age of 10, she'd had to depend on herself to survive... and the same went to Emerald, only he was 6. But Serena... Serena had a family and still didn't appreciate it enough. However, Amethyst hid her annoyance about that issue totally - that would have implied telling Serena she had no parents, and telling that to a woman like Serena would mean the end of the world.

Moreover, maybe Serena had her reasons to 'dislike' her family.

"_...I'm not planning on staying there. I have to go back to Nacrene at the end of the year, to finish up my course."_

"Oh..."

The image of a sad Roark came to Amethyst's mind. Amethyst wanted to protest, but it wouldn't be a good idea, specially if she was talking to Serena. No matter how vulnerable the Joy might be seeming at that moment, she was still a hot-blooded woman. A hot-blooded woman with bad temper, to be precise.

"It's a pity." Amethyst simply said.

Definitely, it was a good idea not insisting on the crush-on-Roark issue, because hearing Serena compliment her was a very satisfying thing.

"Haha, well," Amethyst said. "Ms. Brown is still very young. You can't expect from her a mature, serious personality. When I was her age, I was certainly a bit more serious than her, but not so much as I am now. I'm 24, after all."

The chestnut-head wondered if Serena had guessed her age right. Many people always mistook Amethyst for a younger person, which was something that pissed her badly.

"_Which reminds me, Amy, how did you meet Stephanie or Riley?"_

"Oh." Amethyst said, blushing. "Mmh, well, it happened eight years ago. I was travelling with my brother and, on our trip to Iron Island, the boat had an accident. Riley and his Lucario saved us... And well, my brother, Emerald, wanted Riley to train him, so we stayed with them for a whole month at Iron Island."

Suddenly, a month seemed such a small amount of time to Amethyst... She grabbed the menu and had a look at it.

"It was just a month, but it was... funny." Amethyst added, somewhat sad at remembering those times. "My brother improved a lot, and I... well, my pokémon had plenty of time to be out of their pokéballs, which did very good to them. I'll never be able to thank Riley enough for what he did for us. He taught me to cook, too, hehe."

The purple-eyed trainer giggled.

"And, well, I think I mentioned this last night," She said. "but, after leaving Iron Island to help the Sinnoh Dexholders, I met Riley during the final battle against Team Galactic. But it was only for a few minutes - Galactic Commanders ran away and Riley went after them. No matter how badly I wanted to go with him, I had to stay with my Dexholders comrades."

Amethyst rubbed her head, pensive. Maybe she was talking too much? Serena had apologized for talking so much, but Amethyst's speech was being certainly longer that Serena's.

"I'm sorry," Amethyst said, smiling guiltily. "I think I'm boring you... I guess you expected a more interesting story, but it's just what I've said, really."

Amethyst decided what she was going to eat and deposited the menu back on the table. She wondered if Serena would ask her more, since she had always seemed oddly interested in her relationship with Riley. She finally decided to simply look into Serena's blue eyes and let the conversation flow...


	23. CHAPTER 023: Type compatibility!

- N - = Nicky's part

- J - = my part

**Chapter 023 - Type compatibility!**

**- N -**

_"Gym Leaders and E4 members are also powerful trainers and they don't have pokédex, if you think about it! Being strong doesn't have to equal to having a pokédex'."_

Brown had to admit, there was something to that. Morganite was sounding like quite the conversationalist. She wasn't too sure about what she felt about her own pokedex – it itself was the symbol that she had a family in the ranks of the other holders, but she'd never thought of it as a symbol of power.

_"Moreover, I don't need a device to prove I'm strong! I know Pink's bro, Red, who suffered a huge crisis just because he didn't have his pokédex. Don't you think it's pretty sad? Relying on a device like that..."_

"I've never met Red," Brown noted. "But I can't imagine living without my pokedex, either. I guess that is pretty sad."

She gave a tiny chuckle, her face now interested in her shoes. "It's not just about showing the world how strong you are – my pokedex isn't supposed to be some sort of sign that I'm gifted beyond belief or anything – Arceus knows I'm about as talented as a rock – but it's a sign that I… I belong somewhere. Being able to tell what's attacking us helps, too, I guess, but feeling like you have a family? I like that more than anything!"

Rodent skittered off her shoulders and onto a nearby railing, Brown leaned her backside against it. "So, you're Red's… uh…" She counted with her fingers, "…sister in law once removed or something?" She laughed. "That's a mouthful… Anyway, what's he like? I keep hearing all these rumours about how he's strong enough to move a mountain and stuff. Have you seen him? Oh, what's Pink like? I know she's a lot louder than he is. She's pretty famous, too. Then again, so are most of the dexholders."

_"Hey, Steph, seeing your personality, I'm surprised that you're friends with Amy. She's so... uh, don't get me wrong, I'm fond of her, but she's always so serious, always trying to act correctly -so boring!"_

Brown laughed loud enough for several miners to turn towards them both.

"Weeelll… I don't know Amy much, to be honest," Brown admitted. "I just met her yesterday. She's a really really really powerful trainer, so I made her teach me. I'm going to challenge Roark and Rodent and I need all the help we can get."

"Raticate!" Rodent agreed, sparking tiny flames from his fur in excitement.

"You're definitely right – she's way too serious. She ought to take things easy, take a couple risks here and there. Like… saaay… that Riley fellow. She does like him, right? It's kinda obvious… but I could be wrong." She shrugged. "It's like Gold would say: 'If you spend all your life on solid ground, you'll never learn to fly'."

She smiled, remembering her old mentor back in Jhoto. Hadn't Gold been the one to make her all obsessed with collecting badges in the first place?

"Which reminds me," She continued. "Are you going to fight Roark for the Coal badge? You seem really really really strong, plus you got a Nuzleaf – that type advantage could work out pretty well for you, Moorgaaaniiiite..."

She paused, not liking the way the name flowed out of her mouth. She clicked her tongue, lolling it, testing the name, before finally shrugging.

"You know what? Morganite's a mouthful," She laughed. "Do you have a nickname? Morgan? Momo?"

"Riririr," Rodent laughed.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

_"It's a pity."_

Serena laughed. "Yeah, I'll miss Sinnoh," She sighed wistfully. "I've met a lot of interesting people here."

_"Ms. Brown is still very young. You can't expect from her a mature, serious personality. When I was her age, I was certainly a bit more serious, but not so much as I am now. I'm 24, after all."_

Serena nodded. "True, but when I was a teenager, I at least had some manners. That kid is just plain tactless!" She stopped, realising she was insulting one of Amy's friends right before her face. Trying to change the subject she added. "So… you're twenty-four? You're even younger than me! I thought you were a little older, to be honest. Maybe twenty-seven, like Roark. You're really mature like he is."

True, Amy was a little on the… short… side, but Serena was never one to judge a person's maturity on something as superficial as his height. Besides, Roark was pretty short himself. She was almost taller than he was.

She listened enraptured as Amy told her how she'd met Riley, giggling when she discovered Amy had been taught by Riley to cook.

"Really?" She bit her lip, amused. "I didn't think he'd know how to cook! Well, I've never met a man who could!"

_"I'm sorry, I think I'm boring you... I guess you expected a more interesting story, but it's just what I've said, really."_

"Are you joking?" Serena smiled. "That's interesting! Don't worry about boring me – I'm definitely interested a good adventure. It's the only reason I like folklore as much as I do."

As the band ended their song and began another, this time with a trumpet to lead a little jazzy two-step, Serena finished off the last of her wine.

"That's the thing I've been so curious about," she added. "You and that Stephanie kid mentioned something about a pokedex… I know about Professor Oak and his inventions, I mean, who doesn't?, but I don't understand what you mean by 'dexholder'. I've read the news – 'Dexholders save this' 'Dexholders do that'… Are you guys some sort of superhero team? Or some… organisation… like Team Plasma?"

She stopped, wondering if that had sounded a little too forceful. Amy was her guest, after all, not someone to interrogate. Arceus knew, after her conversations with that Riley fellow, she'd had enough of being interrogated.

"Sorry," She muttered. "I guess I'm just really curious. You've battled legendaries, been shipwrecked at sea… that must be pretty amazing."

The waiter poured her another glass of wine, which she simply stared at. "I'm not a trainer myself," She said. "I've only had a Sawsbuck, and my parents gave me Audino. I never battled with them, which was probably the reason why Sawsbuck died so quickly. I… never explored anywhere, or left Castelia, my hometown, until I went to Nacrene for college. This is the first time I've ever been out of Unova. I never realised the world was so big… I guess you can say I've been pretty sheltered all this time."

She chuckled.

"My parents… well, they're the sort that dictate your entire life. What you eat… who your friends are… what you're supposed to be when you grow up…" She laughed emptily. "When I had to go for college, I told them I'd had enough. They couldn't control everything about my life.

"Naturally, they took it as well as you can expect. My dad still won't talk to me and my mom's Braviary keeps swooping about Oreburgh trying to spy on me. When they found out about Roark…" She sighed. "When they found out about Roark, they were sooo angry. They told me I was supposed to marry a doctor…"

She paused, her back stiff. "Wait. Not that I want to marry Roark. Or anything like that. Because that would be wrong." She sipped her wine, both her cheeks burning.

Finally calm, she rested her glass down and looked up at the trainer's purple eyes. "Have you ever felt that way, Amy? As if your life wasn't yours to control? Like… like you were someone's puppet?"

She bit her lip.

"Sorry," She added. "It really isn't my place to ask, huh?"

**- J -**

Morganite watched how Stephanie talked about her purposes of having a pokédex and chuckled when she mentioned the _"I'm about as talented as a rock" _line.

"I see!" Morganite exclaimed. "Well, I'm not critizicing pokédex, in case you're wondering -I just think they're kinda overrated- but I respect it, and I agree, they're very helpful! But you should appreciate your skills a bit more, girl!"

Self-esteem was what Morganite least lacked, definitely. And she wanted all the women around her to feel the same!

"…_Anyway, what's he like? I keep hearing all these rumours about how he's strong enough to move a mountain and stuff. Have you seen him? Oh, what's Pink like? I know she's a lot louder than he is. She's pretty famous, too. Then again, so are most of the dexholders."_

"Red and Pink?" Well, they're... cute? Hahaha!" Morganite laughed loud. "I can't find a single word to describe them, but yeah, Red's pretty cute, too bad he's 25, hehe. Both of them have very dark hair, but Red's is red-ish brown and Pink's is fuchsia, and they have red eyes. I hafta admit, I love Pink's hair!"

"As for their skills," Morganite added. "well, Red's the strongest Dexholder, he's even a Champion! And he won the League when he was 11! Isn't that incredible? Pink's not bad, either, but she's too... duh, wimpy and fearful. She has a natural talent but she doesn't know how to use it... But, anyway! Pink doesn't really care about battles anymore, so...!"

"They're both quite stubborn," The silver-head affirmed. "but Red's more serious and peaceful, while Pink is always very loud and throwing parties! Heck, I've never met a girl who likes shopping and gossipping more than Pink! But she's very sweet, and she cooks pretty well!"

Definitely, Morganite was proud of the people who were closest to her. She listened to Stephanie's explanations of how she'd met Amethyst, amused.

"Amy? Strong?" Morganite asked. "Well, I'll give her that. But she's like Pink in that topic, she doesn't know how to use her skills. Then again, Amy doesn't really like battling - she always try to avoid troubles as much as possible. But I'm glad she helped you!"

The blue-eyed girl nodded and smiled as she saw the blondie and her Raticate enthusiastic about their Gym Battle. She wondered how they'd planned to win against a rock-type expert with a normal-type, but didn't say a thing since she didn't want to disturb their jolly nature.

"_...here and there. Like… saaay… that Riley fellow. She does like him, right? It's kinda obvious… but I could be wrong."_

"Pfft, you're not wrong at all, kid." Morganite said, trying her best not to laugh. "Pink told me about it eight years ago - nothing's a secret if Pink knows it, ha! It freaks me out how such a young girl can love the same guy for SO long... not to mention he's SEVEN (or maybe even ten, I'm not sure) years older than her!"

Morganite kept listening to the other teenager, her hands on her waist. Right, she had to answer to her question, but first she needed to clear some things up about her name.

"Well, as long as you DON'T call me 'Annie', you can call me however you want." Morganite said. "Most people call me Morgan, and I like it because it sounds... I dunno, boy-ish? Well, that's the guys, because girls mostly call me Anne."

"And yeah, I had planned to challengue the Gym Leader of this city as soon as the Miner's Dance is over." Morganite nodded. "I've heard he's a rock-type expert, so I'm gonna kick his ass with Perla and Noha!"

She was referring to her Gorebyss and Nuzleaf. The girl rested her light blue eyes on her pokéwatch and then looked back at Stephanie.

"Cling! Gling!" Campanilla exclaimed when she saw what time it was.

"Well, Steph, I hafta go now, really." Morganite said. "I want to visit some places in this city before going have lunch. You should go back with your friends."

Morganite patted Rodent's head and brushed his fur in a notoriously less soft way than Amethyst but equally fondly.

"See ya at the Dance, guys." Morganite said. "And I wish you the best of lucks for your Gym Battle!"

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Amethyst still couldn't believe that Serena had mistaken her for an older person. Really? That was completely new to Amethyst! Most people thought she was twenty, or even nineteen! But the Joy'd believed she was older... Definitely, the pink-haired woman was special.

"_Really? I didn't think he'd know how to cook! Well, I've never met a man who could!"_

The purple-eyed woman smiled warmly as she always did when she thought of his loved one. Indeed, Riley was a marvelous man... And Serena seemed quite wonderful, too. She was even more interested than Stephanie in her stories!

"_...what you mean by 'dexholder'. I've read the news – 'Dexholders save this' 'Dexholders do that'… Are you guys some sort of superhero team? Or some… organisation… like Team Plasma?"_

Amethyst flickered. Serena seemed somewhat uncomfortable after making all those questions, but Amethyst didn't certaintly mind it at all.

"Well," The chestnut-head shrugged. "Dexholders are those who own a pokédex. Of course, to own a pokédex you have to gain first some famous Professor's acknowledgment. You know, Prof. Birch for Hoenn, Prof. Oak for Kanto, Prof. Rowan for Sinnoh and Prof. Elm for Johto. If they acknowledge your skills and trust you, they'll give you a pokédex."

Amethyst realized that it was her time to explain why she had a pokédex. She decided not to add many details because that'd imply confess that she'd been travelling alone since young because she had no parents.

"When I was younger, I met Kanto Dexholders and they were like idols to me." Amethyst explained. "I always tried to go after them because... well, because I wanted to be like them. That ended up driving me to the final battle between Kanto/Johto Dexholders against the Man of the Ice Mask - although I wasn't really helpful, but oh well."

"After that, I decided that, if I wanted to be stronger, I'd have to earn some Gym Battles, so I conquered all of Johto Gyms." Amethyst added. "Well, it sounds easy, but it actually took me ten months to achieve that, hehe."

The tiny woman took a deep breath before continuing.

"When I told Prof. Birch the whole story, he decided that it would be worthy giving me a pokédex." The purple-eyed woman said. "It's ironic, because only a few months later I stopped liking battling. I got some traumas after the battle against Kyogre and Groudon..."

Amethyst bit her lip. Unused to talk a lot, she realized she was talking too much.

Serena's story was certainly sadder than her own, she noticed. Specially because of her Sawsbuck's death... And maybe she was lucky for having her parents, but maybe having such... dictatorial parents wasn't a good thing, after all. However, things lightened a bit again when she mentioned Roark again.

"_They told me I was supposed to marry a doctor… Wait. Not that I want to marry Roark. Or anything like that. Because that would be wrong."_

The chestnut-head giggled as the Joy's cheeks reddened.

"Haha! Wrong? And why?" Amethyst asked, smiling.

However, Serena jumped onto the other topic quickly. Amethyst had always considered herself the type that hid her emotions -and she certainly was- but Serena definitely surpassed her!

"_Have you ever felt that way, Amy? As if your life wasn't yours to control? Like… like you were someone's puppet?"_

"No, not at all. I've always been..." Amethyst looked quickly for a word that could replace 'alone'. "independent. Quite independent, I'd say! I've always wanted to do things my way, and the few people that have trully cared about me respect that."

She remembered Red, the first person to worry about her - and the person who pushed her not to live a poor life like a vagabond when she was 10.

"And, since I travel a lot," Amethyst added. "there's not many people that can be watching over me, you see."

The small woman rubbed her chin. A waiter arrived and asked them their orders.

"Yes, I'd like a steak with pea sauce and a salad." Amethyst ordered, being followed by Serena making her order.

As soon as the waiter went away, Amethyst turned her head back to Serena.

"I'm glad we're having this conversation." She said. "It's being very... mmh, mind-opener? And I've got to know more about you, which really helped me to understand you better."

Amethyst took a few sips of whine more. She began to felt her cheeks somewhat warm, but didn't really mind it.

"And I must say I admire you." Amethyst added. "Having the guts to confront your parents... no, your entire family! Studying so hard... Who cares if you're too blunt or strict? People should know you better before judging you."

Which made her think of Stephanie. Where would she be? And why was Amethyst complimenting someone's personality? It was something that she certainly never did...

"I'll admit... that I should have more temper, like you." Amethyst added, shyly. "But, leaving that aside, we're quite similar! I'm always too serious and always want to do things right... Not to mention we also tend to hide our feelings! Yes, Serena, by observing you and realizing we're not very different, I've come to that conclusion."

"And you shouldn't be ashamed of that part of your personality! I honestly think that kind of people are adorable~"

She remembered her old comrade, Silver, who was the perfect sample for the "hide-your-emotions" type.


	24. CHAPTER 024: Confessions!

- N - = Nicky's part

- J - = my part

**Chapter 024 - Confessions!**

**- N -**

Brown watched Morganite (whom she now vowed to refer to purely as 'Morgan', or 'Momo' on good days, and 'Girl Power Girl' on better ones. Gold would've been proud) vanish into the afternoon mall crowd, before checking her watch. It was getting late, nearly one, but just like her, her Pokegear ran a little faster than most.

"What a strange person, eh, Rodent?" She asked her Raticate, who had now started to gnaw happily on the metal bar. "Quit that – you're gonna make yourself sick."

"Raaariticate!" Rodent cross his tiny arms and pouted.

"C'mon, you can ride on my shoulders again," She gave him her arm to climb up, which he gratefully did. "You're hungry, huh?"

"Raarrrriririr." Rodent nodded.

"C'mon, let's find that Mr Moneybags, and make him pay for lunch."

"Raticate!"

She tried to remember what she'd learnt from that little conversation with Morgan. Like… Riley. Amy liked Riley, that was obvious enough, and it seemed that Riley liked Amy back. So, why weren't they married?

Wasn't Amy supposed to be Pink's age? _Pink _was married. And Sapphire, who was even younger than both of them, was probably enjoying her honeymoon with Ruby right now. Didn't _Amy _want to be with Riley?

She remembered Gold and Crystal, who were both well into their twenties, loved each other, but didn't want to do anything about it. It bothered her greatly. It felt like an itch that neither Gold nor Crystal wanted to scratch – and it drove Brown crazy every time she saw the both of them… just… talking… and not doing anything.

"I mean, if you love someone, you gotta show her you love her, right?" She complained to Rodent, who merely shrugged. "Buy her flowers and stuff, take her out to romantic restaurants and kiss her! That's how love works, right?"

"Catetirar," Rodent muttered.

'_It's not that simple,' Gold that told her once, after a dinner with Crystal that constituted of pizza, breadsticks and spilling the mash potatoes on her shirt. 'Dating… Dating's a commitment, and, yeah, I like her, but… We can't do it yet.'_

'_Because you're scared?'_

'_Hey!' Gold grunted. 'I am many things, but I am so not scared. No… it's something else. We like things the way they are now – and we don't know what's going to happen to both of us if we get any closer. Things'll be different, and I don't know whether we're going to like the differences. Crystal will have to start living with us and stuff, and…'_

'…_And she gets to sleep in your bed!'_

'_Right-hey! Who told you that?'_

Gold's voice disappeared as the chatter of miners grew in volume. The men had started putting their hardhats back on, gathering their shovels and pickaxes and amassing into a great big sea of red hats. Their lunch break over, the miners were going back to work.

Brown chewed her lip, wondering whether she should ask one to the Dance quickly before they all left, but shook her head, and carried on.

Eventually, her feet brought her to a tiny, old-fashioned tailor shop. The signboard showed a Mime Jr. juggling a ball of yarn, scissors, and several spools over its head. Under the little clown's feet were the faded letters: TAILOR SHOP.

Well, she had to give them credit, at least they were direct.

"Riley?" She cracked open the door to peer inside. "You in there?"

"STEPHANIE! DON'T COME IN!"

She squeaked out loud as Riley turned about to face her – in his boxers. A greying old Mr Mime, who was rolling the end of a measuring tape by his upturned armpit jumped with the sound.

"MRMIME!"

"RAARTICATE!" Rodent bristled and dug his frightened claws into Brown's scalp, sending her sprawling back… and into what seemed like an invisible little platform a foot off the ground.

The aged Mr Mime dusted its fingers with satisfaction at its handwork. "Mime," It muttered, before ignoring the disturbance and going back to work with the measuring tape. This time around Riley's waist.

"Whoah…" Brown whistled.

"What?"

"I could _grate cheese off your abs_," She smiled, her nose turning red as a tiny perverted smile graced her face. "Uh… I mean. Uh. Why aren't you wearing anything?"

"He's got an interesting body type," An old man emerged from the back of the shop, with a notebook that the Mr Mime quickly took to write in. "He can't fit in any of my suits, I have to custom-fit,"

"Oh,"

Riley simply sighed. "Stephanie, this is a little… embarrassing… I didn't think you'd finish so quickly."

"Oh," She said. "Uh… Well, I wanted to ask you something, but… uh… should I go?"

"No, no, I guess we could talk." He shrugged off the Mr Mime's attempts to measure his shoulders and quickly pulled his dark sweater over himself. Stephanie waited quietly and glanced about the store.

It seemed dangerously old – the wallpaper wasn't just peeling in places – it was being blistered by sheer age and flaking like dandruff at the corners. A rickety old aluminium fan sprayed cool air about the shop, just barely bigger than a bedroom yet stuffed to nigh-bursting with clothes racks and mannequins. A sturdy but aging wooden desk denoted a cashier counter and a workspace all in one, with an old-fashioned cash register perched precariously at the edge. There were no chairs – the Mr Mime probably took care of that for the customers anyway.

Still, the clothes in the window and on the shelves were brand new. Some even looked delightfully modern.

"You come here often?" She asked Riley, and got a passive grunt in reply, the poor man still struggling with his trousers.

"Riley's a regular – he comes by at every time he stops in Oreburgh," The tailor replied proudly. "I do most of his suits."

"I can see why," Brown smiled. There was a charming sense of nostalgia about the shop – as if it could've existed in a fairytale, where knights like Sir Aaron himself roamed and romanced.

"You must be Amethyst," The man smiled. It wasn't a nasty smile, but it seemed like he knew something. "Riley speaks highly of you – he's mentioned you pretty longingly once or twice. Something about having the most amazing purple eyes and… brown hair…? Uh… Forgive me, Amethyst, but… I thought you'd be a brunette…?"

"She is," Riley said, finally doing up his fly. "This is Stephanie Brown. From 'The Brown Effect'. You know the book?"

"Ohhh."

"Yeah," Brown bit her lip. "Sorry, I'm not Amy."

She felt slightly embarrassed, like she'd stuck her foot in something she really shouldn't have.

"Well, now that you're here," Riley sighed, a little tired, resting himself on yet another platform of thin air as the Mr Mime handed him a cup of tea and blew its tongue at Brown. "You wanted to ask me something?"

"Well, yeah," Brown played with her hands, tugging at a band-aid that had started to slip off her finger.

"Riley…? Should I ask a miner out like Morganite did? I don't wanna go to Dance alone. It'd be sad. But I still don't want to dance with someone who I know doesn't love me."

Riley looked at her – she never noticed how scarily deep his eyes were. They looked like little holes through which she could see the deep end of the ocean. She gulped.

"Stephanie, don't do it." He answered. "The Dance, well, the Dance is important. Every person who joins in the First Dance does it out of pure love, and it's a show of commitment and the power of love to look past…" He looked away, thinking of something she wasn't sure of, "to look past flaws and forgive."

It seemed like ten seconds, but could've been ten minutes, before Riley looked up back at her.

"Morganite, well, I feel she's got an Aura that won't let a man in just yet. But I've been going to the Dance every year, and I never ever join in the First Dance. I'm saving that dance for my true love, and I couldn't find her there. This year, though… this year's different…

"I'm only dancing in the First Dance this year because I know who I want to Dance with, who I want to spend the rest of the night with, my life, holding in my arms and telling her I love her and-" He paused, "I'm sorry, this might be beyond you," He scratched the back of his head, apprehensive.

"No, no," Brown shook her head vehemently. "this is interesting."

"Well," Riley laughed. "well, I guess what I meant to say was that if you're supposed to meet your true love at the Dance, it's probably for the best that you didn't play about with fate. Your true love'll come some day, but if you can't find him tonight, don't be disheartened. Just let it come to you when it does."

Stephanie nodded slowly, a tiny smile on her face.

"Thanks." She added. "Oh, you better get your measurements done up first – I'll wait outside with Rodent."

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

_"Well, Dexholders are those who own a pokédex. Of course, to own a pokédex you have to gain first some famous Professor's acknowledgment. You know, Prof. Birch for Hoenn, Prof. Oak for Kanto, Prof. Rowan for Sinnoh and Prof. Elm for Johto. If they acknowledge your skills and trust you, they'll give you a pokédex."_

Serena nodded, as Amy began to explain the dexholders to her. So… beating gym leaders would get you a pokedex? She wondered how the group worked – did they have their own headquarters, club memberships? It seemed like quite a big deal for Amy to be part of them.

She stopped thinking, however, when the young woman mentioned fighting Kyogre and Groudon.

"No way," She gasped. "You were there? That's… incredible. What was it like? Were they big up close? Was it true that Rayquaza was there too?"

She held herself back, though, and leaned back in her chair. She didn't want to scare the small woman. Instead she focused on the music: The band was definitely playing a song she was supposed to know, but still couldn't recognise. It bothered her slightly.

"_I've always been... independent. Quite independent, I'd say! I've always wanted to do things my way, and the few people that have trully cared about me respect that."_

Serena smiled longingly. "I could use some of that," She added. "No rules, no one to tell you what to do… that sounds divine. You're lucky, you know, Amy, having an understanding family like that. I'd give anything to be like you – strong pokemon so you don't have to rely on anyone, people who understand what you want in life, and nothing but you and the open road…"

Her voice droned of as she tried to imagine life without… well, without anyone. Sure, getting away from her parents for good would be a relief, and sometimes her cousins could get on her nerves, but still… she couldn't imagine life away from Roark's apartment.

"I guess I'd be a little scared to go out on my own, too." Serena laughed. "It might sound silly to you, but…" She bit her lip, an embarrassed smile curling at the corners. "I've only known Roark for less than a year, but I can't imagine going out into the world without him."

As the waiter came up to them, Serena asked for the Borsch and a steak. "I'll take the Borch here. Keep the steak to go; I'll pick it up later."

"Roark probably forgot to eat lunch again," She explained. "If bringing that idiot his food's the only way he'll eat, I'll do it."

_"I'm glad we're having this conversation. t's being very... mmh, mind-opener? And I've got to know more about you, which really helped me to understand you better."_

Serena laughed. "Well, thanks. The same for you, too, I guess. I never knew what an interesting life you must lead, Amy. Seeing exotic places, finding legendaries. It must be like a holiday, huh?"

_"I'll admit... that I should have more temper, like you. But, leaving that aside, we're quite similar! I'm always too serious and always want to do things right... Not to mention we also tend to hide our feelings! Yes, Serena, by observing you and realizing we're not very different, I've come to that conclusion."_

"You think so?" Serena smiled, amused. "I don't know, I like you as you are now – hell, I'd never have the patience to put up with someone like Blondie for a whole morning, but you did. Being calm's a good thing. It's probably the reason why I like Roark so much," She giggled softly before hiccupping, "He's just… gentle. I mean even when he's not supposed to be, he is." She remembered the first time she'd seen him like that, all fur and teeth and that large red mane… he didn't even growl at her. "I mean, most people'd expect him to do something horrible but… but he spends most of the time just… watching you. It's quite calming, really."

It occurred to her that she was talking about a side of Roark that she really shouldn't ever discuss in public. Quickly, she shut her lips.

"So…" She muttered. "You might be right – I really don't like talking about how I feel out loud." She laughed as Amy admitted how she always wanted things done right. "And you're spot-on there: I can't stand a mess, which is weird, seeing that spend most of my time cleaning up after rock pokemon!"

She raised her glass, clinking it against Amy's.

"Cheers – to not being very different."

"I don't know why I'm so open today, I guess you're just an easy person to talk to, Amy." She smiled. "You're good at listening and you don't seem to judge – which helps. I've never seen anyone so patient! I'd die if I had to babysit Blondie for a whole morning like you did today!"

Still, as much as she wanted to, she couldn't tell Amy everything. Serene sighed – it really would be good to have Amy on board as a fellow secret-keeper. She seemed trustworthy enough.

"Amy, can I trust you with a secret? About Roark? He's…"

She shut her mouth. She couldn't say it – not when Roark's freedom was at stake – not when he trusted her.

"I, uh, well I like him." She squeezed her face tightly. It was no less true, but a little less sensational. "You… probably noticed before, haven't you?"

**- J -**

Roark was passing by the tailor shop. He was notoriously tired and upset. His Rampardos walked by him just in case he'd fall off. His small adventure saving Riley and Amethyst from the cavern along with the hard work at the mined had screwed him up badly.

"Rrrramp!" Rampardos exclaimed, suddenly.

"Mmh?" Roark grunted, looking up.

A familiar-looking blonde girl had just got off the tailor shop. Accompanied by a Raticate...

"Uuh... Stephanie?" Roark asked, approaching the girl. "What are you doing here... alone?"

He corrected himself after hearing a growl from Rodent adressed at him.

"Okay, you're not alone, you're with Rodent." Roark said, rubbing his head; his hard hat was being held by his left hand. "But what are you two doing here? Are you already going to get a dress? And how come you're not with Amethyst?"

The ginger sat on a bench near Stephanie, totally exhausted. Seeing that Rampardos wouldn't stop growling at the teenager, he made him get back into his pokéball. But why would he act like that when yesterday had been totally normal? Oh, well.

"I know the other miners are getting back to work, I know." Roark sighed reluctantly. "You see, since I went to help Riley and your friend earlier, I was totally delayed for the project we were working on... Hence, I had to work MORE. Sigh..."

Roark was doing nothing to hide his annoyance. He stretched on the bench, swiping the sweat ouf of his forehead with his right hand. His t-shirt, totally sweaty, was adhered to his abs, completely showing all his masculine forms.

"I just finished my part of the work." Roark added. "I haven't even eaten yet! Pfft, but eating alone is going to be so boring... Meh."

Screwed up wasn't enough to describe his status. Always used to finish his work in time, that setback was being a pain in the neck. He was Roark, and he HAD to be perfect, dammit!

"Mmh, now that I think of it," The miner said, looking at Stephanie. "have you guys eaten yet? I could go with you and whoever you are with, if you don't mind."

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Amethyst had patiently explained to Serena some aspects about the old battle against Kyogre and Groudon... and Rayquaza. It was kind of tough for her, but oh well - the Joy was definitely the most interested person in legendary pokémon! Amethyst realized, amused, that it was a quality of all the previous leaders of evil teams.

_"...No rules, no one to tell you what to do… that sounds divine. You're lucky, you know, Amy, having an understanding family like that."_

Hearing that made Amethyst bit her lip. She didn't want to explain that her parents were dead, but she didn't want to lie to Serena either... Then again, Amethyst had a family, Emerald, and he was indeed quite respectful with all her choices. Amethyst nodded, smiling, relieved because it wasn't totally a lie.

"Well, I don't really know how it feels." Amethyst admitted when Serena mentioned that she couldn't imagine a life without Roark. "I've been always travelling so, even if I developed some bonds with certain people in the past, I had to break them because... well, because travelling's my passion."

"But maybe it's time to settle down..." The purple-eyed woman added, in a lower tone. "Like... getting a boyfriend or something? I mean," She raised her voice. "my best friend, who is my age, is already married. I must admit that... sometimes... I feel jealous."

Amethyst lowered her head and giggled stupidly, realized that she was saying dumb things. Neverthless, the pink-haired woman seemed to like her, which was another great hit for Amethyst. She giggled when Serena started to talk about Roark again. The way her eyes shone when she talked about him was so familiar to Amethyst...

_"...I mean, most people'd expect him to do something horrible but… but he spends most of the time just… watching you. It's quite calming, really."_

Amethyst flickered, somewhat surprised. Roark? Something horrible? Watching you? Was she talking about the serious, reliable Roark? Or maybe the alcohol was getting to her head and Serena had stopped talking about Roark without Amethyst noticing it? Oh well, just in case, the best would be to ignore that line and keep conversing.

_"Cheers – to not being very different."_

"Yeah." Was all Amethyst could say since she wasn't used to such things.

She drank all the remaining wine in her glass. It was too late when she realized it. A waiter hastened to fill her glass with more wine. Amethyst was still processing what she'd just done and couldn't do anything to stop him.

"Oh, well." The chestnut-head said, looking at the glass. "Remind me to keep drinking water after this glass of wine, please."

Amethyst kept listening to Serena, who was now complimenting her for her patience. Well, that was one of Amethyst's biggest virtues, truth be told. But of course, she HAD to be patient, having a brother like Emerald.

"Well, don't forget that Riley was there to help me, hehe." Amethyst said, blushing. "It was funny, though, leaving aside the incident with the Onix, of course. But hey, Ms. Brown is a good apprentice, she learns fast. Even Riley said it!"

Suddenly...

_"Amy, can I trust you with a secret? About Roark? He's…"_

Amethyst flickered, her big, purple eyes totally opened. Roark is... what? "Gay" was the first word that appeared in Amethyst's mind, to be honest.

_"I, uh, well I like him. You… probably noticed before, haven't you?"_

There it was!

"Oh!" Amethyst exclaimed, flinching. "Oh! Oh, well. Mmh... well, yeah, maybe. Oh, who am I trying to fool! It was so obvious!"

The chestnut-head took another sip of wine.

"Well, at least to me." She added. "I already told you we're very similar when it comes to love, so your feelings were like an open book to me."

Amethyst nodded, trying not to embarrass Serena. Maybe she was being too... direct?

"The moment it became obvious was when you two danced last night." Amethyst said. "You were so cute looking at him! And he treats you very well, I'd say. That's why I say you two have an interesting relationship~"

Since when she was so talkative? Oh, yeah, since she had started to drink wine. She wondered if Serena would feel very embarrassed.

"I think you have a chance with him, honestly." Amethyst added. "I'm surprised he hasn't asked you out for the Dance yet! Or are you going to do it? Can women ask guys out too? Or only men?"

Amethyst facepalmed.

"My apologies." She said. "I'm not used to drink alcohol... But I'm not saying this to make youfeel uncomfortable, I really think you should confess your feelings to Roark. And as soon as possible, because... well, you'll be leaving at the end of the year, and you could regret it for the rest of your life if you don't confess."

Of course, confessing and getting heartbroken was also a possibility, just like it'd happened to Amethyst. But that wouldn't happen to Serena - she was certainly sure of it!

However, all that topic made Amethyst feel somewhat sad. There was also a man she loved... A man that treated her like a younger sister or even sometimes a daughter - or at least that's what seemed to Amethyst.

"Hey, Serena," The purple-eyed woman finally said. "you mentioned earlier that Riley likes me. What makes you think that? I mean, I find his actions more... brotherly-ish... then again, I have no idea about love, and... well... Maybe I'm just blinded by our past..."

Amethyst chewed her lip, her cheeks burning. A waiter served Amethyst's dish, but she didn't touch it yet. As soon as he left, she looked at Serena again.

"Okay, since you just confessed, now it's my turn..." She said. "I like... no, I love Riley, ever since we met... eight years ago... And, I..."

Her eyes started to get teary.

"And I know it's stupid!" She exclaimed. "Because he's like eight years older than me and because it's been too long, I know! But even though it's stupid I can't stop loving him! Even after these years travelling, I've never managed to forget him! And now I meet him again, and... and feel like I love him more than before! I'm so pathetic..."

Amethyst sighed, managing to pull her tears back. She didn't want to look weak in front of Serena. She tried a piece of her steak but, after realizing it was still too hot, left the fork on the plate again.


	25. CHAPTER 025: Serena's advices

- N - = Nicky's part

- J - = my part

**Chapter 025 - Serena's advices**

**- N -**

_"Uuh... Stephanie? What are you doing here... alone?"_

Brown perked up, staring at the very sweaty redheaded human being before her. She smiled, opening her mouth to begin explaining, but was cut short by Rodent throwing a tantrum.

_"Okay, you're not alone, you're with Rodent… But what are you two doing here? Are you already going to get a dress? And how come you're not with Amethyst?"_

Brown giggled, pulling the Raticate off her shoulders and held him upside-down.

"Well, I'm not looking a for a dress just yet – but Riley's inside getting his suit done up," She explained as Rodent flailed about upside-down in her arms. "Riley told me Amy's downstairs at the Reynardine having lunch with Pinky-ah, I mean, Serena Joy,"

Great going, Stephanie, she thought. Insult the gym leader's buddy hours before he fights you – I'm sure that'll work out just perfectly.

Speaking of the battle, Roark's pokemon seemed to be a little less than friendly. The Rampardos growled low in its throat as it caught sight of her. Rodent hissed, puffing out his fur as if to help scare it away. Brown moved herself behind the bench – at least if the fossil-pokemon wanted to eat her, she'd have a metre of wood and metal in the way first. Thankfully, Roark recalled the pokemon back into its ball before she lost a finger or a nose.

_"I know the other miners are getting back to work, I know. You see, since I went to help Riley and your friend earlier, I was totally delayed for the project we were working on... Hence, I had to work MORE. Sigh..."_

"I'm sorry." She apologised again, not knowing what else to say. Instead she opted to stare instead at how he was walking about with the wet-t-shirt look, and doing a brilliant job of it too. He had a better set of abs than Riley, and strong arms like the other miners.

She could see why Serena liked him so much… _if _Serena liked him at all. She really wasn't too sure whether the Joy could actually act nice to anything.

_"I just finished my part of the work. I haven't even eaten yet! Pfft, but eating alone is going to be so boring... Meh… Now that I think of it, have you guys eaten yet? I could go with you and whoever you are with, if you don't mind."_

Brown smiled. "Oooh, why not? This is gonna be great!" She hopped excitedly on the balls of her feet. "But we gotta wait for Riley first, though."

Rodent had gone back to chewing on the metal bar of the mall's railing, pausing occasionally to see if his trainer would stop him. Brown sighed, prying him off and dropping him onto the bench next to the Gym Leader. The Raticate blinked, and then skittered onto the redhead's lap, rubbing his face against the Roark's sweaty side as if asking for a cuddle.

"I swear you've got an attention span shorter than a blade of grass, Rodent," Brown giggled. "You don't mind, do you, Roark? He likes it when you scratch him between the ears – it'll keep him from trying to eat the railings at least."

She demonstrated by scratching the top of the Raticate's head, eliciting a contented purr from the fluffy brown rat. Rodent squirmed happily and thumped his leg as his tongue lolled out of his mouth.

"See what I mean? He really likes that," Brown laughed, looking at the redheaded gym leader. Oddly enough, she felt the strangest urge to scratch Roark's own head, and she wondered why. He just looked like he needed it. How much did people like getting their head scratched, anyway?

"Soo… What are you working on, anyways?" She asked. "Is it for the Dance?"

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

_"But maybe it's time to settle down... Like... getting a boyfriend or something? I mean," She raised her voice. "my best friend, who is my age, is already married. I must admit that... sometimes... I feel jealous."_

"Well, that's got to stink: Always the bridesmaid and never the bride, huh?" Serena laughed, "Well, if you want my opinion, you shouldn't settle down until you're sure you have the right man. You've got a good thing going for you right now – all that adventure and freedom, and like you said, travelling's your passion – don't give it all away unless you're positive he's the right person for you."

Amy had giggled in such a familiar way, Serena was almost taken aback at how much she'd sounded like herself. Perhaps Amethyst really did have a Mr Right in mind just like she did.

She was probably too distracted to notice the waiter refilling her glass with even more wine. Eventually realising it just a little too late:

_"Oh, well. Remind me to keep drinking water after this glass of whine, please."_

"Sure," Serena smiled, feeling slightly intoxicated herself. The room definitely seemed a lot rosier than when she'd come in at least. Maybe it was a conversation topic at hand that did it… Finally being free to talk to another woman about her crush was terrifically cathartic.

_"Oh! Oh! Oh, well. Mmh... well, yeah, maybe. Oh, who am I trying to fool! It was so obvious!"_

Serena burst out in laughter. Her chest felt lighter, and her head just a little giddier with a mix of joy and relief.

"Was it really that obvious?" She chewed her lip. "I mean, I've been trying to be discreet… I guess doesn't work, does it? I just… like him. Well, at first I probably wouldn't have thought about it at all – I just wanted to study him for my college paper, but I guess he's really grown on me. He's just really sweet, and I've never once seen him actually lose his temper…"

There was a strange expression on her face, one she didn't entirely recognise. She'd never been so open before, and it felt odd, but not in a bad way. On the contrary, she'd never felt so good before, not in a long, long time.

_"I already told you we're very similar when it comes to love, so your feelings were like an open book to me."_

Serena nodded. It felt amazing to finally be able to open up to someone – especially someone so similar to her. Glad to find a kindred spirit, she made up her mind that, one day, she'd tell Amy everything – Roark could definitely trust someone like her with his secret.

"It feels pretty good to meet someone like you… like me." Serena admitted, smiling. "It's such a relief."

Amethyst shovelled her food into her mouth before realising it was too hot. Discreetly, she pushed it slightly aside.

"I know this sounds crazy, but I'm really hoping Roark asks me to be his partner for the First Dance." She admitted, "He's gotten Gardenia to do it every year since Byron left for Canalave, but this year she stuck helping with the Farmer's Dance at Eterna."

_"Hey, Serena, you mentioned earlier that Riley likes me. What makes you think that? I mean, I find his actions more... brotherly-ish... then again, I have no idea about love, and... well... Maybe I'm just blinded by our past..."_

"Don't be stupid, Amy, of course he likes you," Serena snapped, a mix of disbelief and seriousness. "I saw the way he looked at you last night – you may not have noticed, but he kept sneaking glances at you over the dinner table. And did you see how stunned he was when that girl mentioned you still carried a torch for him? His mood improved practically immediately."

She laughed. "And let's not forget what you're wearing," She indicated at the large jacket still slung around Amy's shoulders. "giving someone your clothes is a pretty big gesture of love where I come from."

It was probably out of context, but her mind wandered to the multiple many times she'd worn Roark clothes in the morning. They tended to get ripped a lot.

_"Okay, since you just confessed, now it's my turn… I like... no, I love Riley, ever since we met... eight years ago... And, I... And I know it's stupid! Because he's like eight years older than me and because it's been too long, I know! But even though it's stupid I can't stop loving him! Even after these years travelling, I've never managed to forget him! And now I meet him again, and... and feel like I love him more than before! I'm so pathetic..."_

"Oh, Amy," Serena tried to sound comforting – it didn't really work, she was never good at comforting anyone. "Don't ever think love is stupid. Take my advice, and follow your feelings. If you love Riley, don't be ashamed of it. I'm pretty sure he feels the same way."

She laid a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"You can't ask him out to the First Dance, since only men can ask women out, but you can start showing him you're interested in him. Maybe he'll take a hint?" She added helpfully. "I've got a good feeling that he likes you too. There's something in his expression… something about the way he talks, that seems happier every time he's talking to you."

She smiled helpfully. "If it helps, I could lend you some of my things." While Amy was much shorter than Serena, she was equally skinny, most of her clothes wouldn't have much of a hard time fitting the purple-eyed woman.

**- J -**

_"...Riley told me Amy's downstairs at the Reynardine having lunch with Pinky-ah, I mean, Serena Joy,"_

Roark flinched, surprised. His expression changed notoriously, a wide smile appeared on his face. Not only for mentioning Serena, but also because he was glad to see Serena was getting along with someone!

"Haha, 'Pinky', uh? It's a cute nickname, like women say." Roark laughed softly. "But I'm afraid it doesn't fit Serena, she's a hot-blooded woman... Well, of course, I'm not saying she's not cute-"

The miner flickered, realizing what he'd just said.

"I-I'm so glad to see she's getting along with Amethyst!" He hastened to add, slightly blushing.

Despite being so tired, Roark couldn't stop noticing the stubborn rat chewing the metal bars, just like an Aron would do. Right, he was going to have lunch with Stephanie... and Riley. After all that had happened with Laelaps inside the cave earlier, Roark wasn't very sure if that was a good idea. But he had already asked Stephanie, it'd be wrong if he changed his mind now. Moreover, maybe he'd got to see Serena...

_"You don't mind, do you, Roark? He likes it when you scratch him between the ears – it'll keep him from trying to eat the railings at least."_

The ginger was so engrossed with his thougths that it took him a few seconds to notice the blonde teenager was talking to him. Roark looked at the funny duo and watched how the girl scratched her pokémon's head.

"Hehe, well, why not." Roark said, getting to it.

There was something incredibly relaxing about brushing Rodent's fur. Used to his rock-type pokémon that had no fur, it was pleasing to feel Rodent's fluffy fur between his fingers. Roark's annoyance went away after a few minutes.

"Hahaha." Roak laughed, looking at the rat. "You're a good bro, Rodent."

_"Soo… What are you working on, anyways? Is it for the Dance?"_

"Oh, well, more or less." Roark answered, still scratching Rodent. "Actually, most of the work I've done this morning was just regular work, but yeah, this afternoon we're going to prepare things for the Dance. We have little work left, so I'll go back home earlier today, maybe at 7 if everything goes smoothly."

Listening to the amusing brown-eyed girl while scratching the fluffy rat was a nice thing to do, but Roark was starving so, after a few minutes of tittle-tattle, Roark looked at the tailor shop behind them.

"When is Riley going to appear?" The miner asked. "I'm hungry!"

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Although some of Serena's words about Roark had sounded weird (the "expect him to do terrible things" part and the fact that she'd said she wanted to study him), Amethyst didn't really mind at that moment. She wasn't in conditions to think about complicated things, after all.

Anyway, what would Serena want to study about Roark? Anatomy?

_"It feels pretty good to meet someone like you… like me. It's such a relief."_

Amethyst giggled again. Apparently, it was the only type of laugh that could come out from her mouth.

"I think it's the first time I meet a person who is similar to me." The purple-eyed woman said. "At least, in a long time. And don't worry! I'm sure he'll ask you out for the Dance. I can feel it, I don't know."

When would she stop sayin dumb things? Amethyst wondered, annoyed. Despite her conditions, she could think clearly but, because of getting tongue-tied so often, she couldn't speak well. Definitely, it would be better for her if she simply listened to Serena, but there were so many things she wanted to rant about...

_"...you may not have noticed, but he kept sneaking glances at you over the dinner table. And did you see how stunned he was when that girl mentioned you still carried a torch for him? His mood improved practically immediately."_

"Oh, that."

True. Amethyst had been surprised at Riley's suddenly change of mood after Morganite's appearance. Would Serena be right? As for the 'glances', Amethyst hadn't noticed them last night, but if Serena was saying it, it couldn't be wrong! And Riley's jacket on her shoulders... definitely had to mean something, but...

"But if he really loves me," The purple-eyed woman mumbled, crossing her arms over her chest. "why doesn't he say anything?"

Amethyst got anxious, what if Serena had caught all of it wrong? The chestnut-head wished her relationship with Riley was like Serena and Roark's relationship. The both of them seemed to clearly like each other, after all...

_"Oh, Amy, don't ever think love is stupid. Take my advice, and follow your feelings. If you love Riley, don't be ashamed of it. I'm pretty sure he feels the same way."_

"Follow my feelings..." Amethyst whispered. "_But what if that doesn't make me any good?_ Mmh, not that I feel ashamed, it's just that... it's been so long..."

But Serena seemed confident about that; that was what mostly helped Amethyst to pull her tears back. She appreciated her support. After all, she hadn't been able to talk sincerely to anyone since she had parted ways with Emerald. The pink-haired woman's hands on her shoulders meant more than she believed.

_"You can't ask him out to the First Dance, since only men can ask women out, but you can start showing him you're interested in him. Maybe he'll take a hint? I've got a good feeling that he likes you too. There's something in his expression… something about the way he talks, that seems happier every time he's talking to you."_

Really? Well, maybe Amethyst was indeed too blinded by their past to see what the Joy was saying. Truth be told, Riley had been very kind to her since they had met yesterday; he was always caring about her and smiling at her...

"Wel, I'm too shy to ask him out myself, anyway." Amethyst said, shyly; she looked into Serena's blue eyes, hopeful. "But... is that true? Do you really think so?"

_"If it helps, I could lend you some of my things."_

The chestnut-head arched an eyebrow, wondering what could it be. A potion of love?

"What do you mean?" Amethyst asked. "One of your things?"

While Serena answered, the tiny woman tried her steak again. Good, it was already edible. However, Amethyst was pretty fast at eating, and she didn't want to finish before Stephanie & Co. arrived... She wondered where would they be.


	26. CHAPTER 026: Roark's worry

- N - = Nicky's part

- J - = my part

**Chapter 026 - Roark's worry**

**- N -**

There was something definitely odd about the way Roark stammered as he talked about Serena. He was, Stephanie surmised, as infatuated with Serena as they'd all suspected he was. A coy smile tugged at her mouth. He was kind of cute when he couldn't put words together.

Rodent wiggled with pleasure as Roark ruffled his fur.

_"When is Riley going to appear? I'm hungry!"_

Brown laughed – the Gym Leader had sounded so much like Rodent, if Rodent could talk. She decided not to tell him, not sure how Roark would react to being called a pokemon.

Unsure of when Riley would be done, she diverted her attention to changing the conversation.

"I like that one," She pointed to a blue dress in the window. "It kinda looks like Suicune… I fought it once, it snapped my ankle, see?" She lifted her left foot, and bent it backwards until it twisted into an awkward angle. "Still kinda hurts like a bitch..." She laughed, remember the way Gold had complained about his own scratches.

Everything to Gold hurt like a bitch, especially if it'd been inflicted by Crystal.

"Finding rare pokemon isn't a problem for me – getting away without getting hurt is a little harder." She admitted. "If there is a monster romping around Oreburgh, I wouldn't be surprised to see it!" She chortled quietly before turning to the Gym Leader.

"Have you seen it?" She asked, "the monster, I mean."

She waited for an answer for minutes, hours it seemed like, before the doorbell of the tailor shop announced Riley's return. He had changed now, and was wearing a darker blue suit, with a sharper looking fedora. His gloves were deep black velvet, and looked like something Jack the Ripper himself would've worn proudly.

"How do I look?" Riley smiled, brushing down his new suit. "Not too old-fashioned?"

Brown beamed, sending him a thumbs-up. "You look great!" She laughed. "Is that what you're wearing for the Dance?"

"This? For the Dance?" Riley shook his head, "I have something a little more elaborate in mind for tomorrow night. This is just a change of clothes."

Brown brought her shirt up to her nose and smelled it. She never noticed how long she'd been wearing her travelling clothes until now. How long had it been since she'd gotten a new sweater? Days, maybe.

"Which reminds me," She added, "What are you wearing for the Dance, Roark?"

Riley nodded knowingly as he acknowledged Roark's presence. His eyes lit up again in a neon shade of blue and he said nothing more. He didn't ask what the redheaded gym leader was doing with them, or what Roark'd wanted – he'd probably guessed it all just from Aura alone, Brown realised.

Rodent's stomach gurgled and the tiny rat hugged it.

"Raticate,"

"You're hungry, huh?" She pulled the Raticate into her lap and bounced him like a toddler. "We'll go soon, don't worry,"

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

_"I think it's the first time I meet a person who is similar to me. At least, in a long time. And don't worry! I'm sure he'll ask you out for the Dance. I can feel it, I don't know."_

Serena nodded, still slightly unconvinced. There was always the chance that Roark wouldn't ask her – he might be too shy and wind up asking Candice or Gardenia again, someone he was familiar with.

"Well, I'm pretty sure Roark feels the same way about me," She stirred her soup, pondering, "But still, he's more likely to ask someone he was friends with rather than me. He's just… really shy. Have you noticed that?"

As the conversation drifted back to Riley, she noticed Amy faltering and looking doubtful herself.

_"But if he really loves me, why doesn't he say anything?"_

"Maybe he's afraid," Serena suggested. "He might be scared of being rejected himself… I mean, it's been so many years. He might be scared you've moved on or something." She sipped at the borsch, as if scared it might scald her. "Or he might be afraid of taking the next big step,"

She breathed deeply. "I'm scared to do it myself – I'm comfortable with Roark the way we are now – we don't need to kiss, or date or even be a couple. If I told him how I felt… well, I'm scared that he won't like it. Things'll change, and it may not be a good thing."

She sighed.

_"Follow my feelings... Mmh, not that I feel ashamed, it's just that... it's been so long..."_

"That's exactly what I mean," She added, helpfully. "If you're afraid to do it, Riley might be feeling the same way."

_"Wel, I'm too shy to ask him out myself, anyway. But... is that true? Do you really think so?"_

Serena giggled. "I know so, Amy," She said. "Don't be afraid. I'm positive Riley feels for the you the same way you do."

_"What do you mean?... One of your things?"_

She scratched in her purse, which she carried clipped around her waist (Roark's trousers probably had more attachments than Batman's utility belt) and pulled out a clasp of eyeshadow.

"Make-up." She smiled coyly. "C'mon, I'll do your eyes and you can use some lipstick in the bathroom,"

She stopped, however, looking up as the band's fiddler began to waltz around the room, collecting tips in his hat. There was really something familiar about that song…

…and then she remembered.

"That's the Reynardine!" She laughed aloud, slapping the compact of eyeshadow on the table as it dawned on her. "They're playing Reynardine!"

She flipped her finger along with the gentle beat. "Roark sings it in the shower." She explained with a dreamy smile. "It's something Byron sings too. I think Roark's mother taught it to them – it's a Unovian folk song."

_One evening as I rambled among the leaves so green_

_I overheard a young man converse with Reynardine…_

"My mother used to sing it to me when I was younger, too," She explained, a little wistfully. Her mother hadn't talked to her in what seemed like forever. "It's about Zoaroarks. They say Zoroarks turn into humans to court a human lover."

She pointed at the young woman's bag. "If you have a pokedex, Amy, you can search up what a Zoroark is – they're quite beautiful."

**- J -**

Roark didn't know what was more strange: the fact that Stephanie had met the legendary Suicune or the thought of the teenager wearing a dress. A blue dress. Used to see the blondie wearing earth-ish colored clothes, he simply couldn't imagine her in a blue dress.

_"_…_I fought it once, it snapped my ankle, see? Still kinda hurts like a bitch..."_

The miner observed how Stephanie bent her feet backwards and made a face, looking away inmediately.

"Oh, Arceus, don't do that, Stephanie!" He exclaimed, frowning.

However, he didn't have time to complain, because Stephanie brought the 'beast issue' up again, for Roark's disgrace.

_"Have you seen it?" She asked, "the monster, I mean."_

"Sigh, Stephanie, you just won't stop, will you?" Roark said, rolling eyes. "I've seen many things in my life... But you don't have to worry about the monster, because there's NOT such monster! Some pokémon eat each other, it's matter of life! I don't know why are people getting so worked up now..."

Well, he indeed knew. But he wanted to sound like another confused person so his excuses sounded more plausible.

"Umh, I guess people are more worried than usual because some witnesses said that it looked like a Zoroark." The ginger added. "But, to begin with, it's always night when things happen, so they can't be sure. And anyway, Zoroarks are Unovvian pokémon, or didn't you listen to Serena last night?"

Roark was trying not to sound unfriendly. He thought of more excuses to convince Stephanie that there wasn't a beast.

"Look, there are pokémon that can be mistaken by foxes near Oreburgh." Roark told, looking into Stephanie's brown eyes. "Luxios and Luxrays aren't common in this area, but they sometimes come from other routes, not to mention Luxrays are quite big, so they could be easily mistaken for Zoroarks. And let's not forget there's a trainer who's always training at Oreburgh Gate and he owns a Lucario, which might be mistaken for a Zoroark in the darkness of the night."

The miner rested his back onto the bench backrest, sighing.

"So, Stephanie, there's not such beast." He sentenced. "Stop worrying about that, really."

Roark remained silence for the next couple of minutes, until Riley got out from the tailor shop.

"_Why is he dressing so elegant if it's not for the Dance?_" The ginger thought, looking perplexed at his friend. "_Is it... for Amethyst?_"

_"Which reminds me, what are you wearing for the Dance, Roark?"_

"Oh, uh," Roark stuttered. "well, shirt, trousers, shoes. And Serena always forces me to wear a bow. I'm very simple when it comes to suits."

He gave Riley a glance. The fact that he was in total silence while he looked at him was really disturbing. Seeing that Laelaps wasn't with him, Roark had wanted to be friendly with him, but Riley didn't seem to want to be friendly himself.

"H-hey, Riley," The miner said, trying to sound conversationalist. "how come you're so elegant?"

Of course, that was a stupid question, but Roark couldn't think of anything better to say. Anyway, when he saw Rodent hugging his own stomach, he found the perfect chance to move onto another topic.

"Yeah, I'm starving too." He said. "And I have to go back to work as soon as possible, so we better go to have lunch already, don't you think, Riley?"

Maybe going to have lunch with Riley wasn't the best idea, but it was too late to go back. And anyway, Serena was going to be with them. Her presence would do everything worthy, Roark was sure of that.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

_"...But still, he's more likely to ask someone he was friends with rather than me. He's just… really shy. Have you noticed that?"_

Amethyst crossed her arms over her chest again, notoriously indignant.

"But that's not fair." She protested, frowning. "I can understand if he did that before meeting you, but now that you're with him, it would be stupid if he asked a friend!"

There was a difference between being shy and being a coward, Amethyst at least knew that. Being so obvious that Serena liked Roark, it would be very coward of him not aking her out.

_"...I'm comfortable with Roark the way we are now – we don't need to kiss, or date or even be a couple. If I told him how I felt… well, I'm scared that he won't like it. Things'll change, and it may not be a good thing."_

"Oh."

Maybe Serena was right, Amethyst thought. She didn't know a thing about love and relationships, after all, so she'd have to rely on the pink-haired woman's words.

_"That's exactly what I mean. If you're afraid to do it, Riley might be feeling the same way."_

"Mmh, I dunno." The chestnut-head mumbled. "I can't imagine Riley feeling insecure..."

Such feelings were pretty common from a teenager and maybe even Amethyst, who barely had self-confidence. But Riley? Being a strong, reliable trainer, why would he doubt of himself?

_"Make-up. C'mon, I'll do your eyes and you can use some lipstick in the bathroom."_

"Ooh!" Amethyst squealed, cheery. "Make-up!"

Remembering all those women she'd met in several festivals who wore special make-up, the purple-eyed lady felt curious about trying it herself.

"Will you lend me your make-up again for the Dance, too?" The tiny woman asked, excited. "I want to wear a special make-up like in those festivals!"

She wanted to feel pretty for once... Moreover, she had never been pretty for Riley. Maybe it was a good idea. Yes, definitely, it had to be a good idea coming from Serena!

"This is so-!"

Amethyst shut up, realizing Serena was listening to the lullaby the band was playing.

_"They're playing Reynardine! Roark sings it in the shower. It's something Byron sings too. I think Roark's mother taught it to them – it's a Unovian folk song."_

"It's... cute." Amethyst said.

Used to grow up amongst the brutality of the streets, Amethyst wasn't one to have ear for lullabies. Since she didn't remember anything about her childhood, she didn't know if her mother had been that type of woman that sings to her children.

The chest-nut head closed her eyes.

"It's relaxing." She said. "I like it."

_"My mother used to sing it to me when I was younger, too. It's about Zoroarks. They say Zoroarks turn into humans to court a human lover."_

Despite being slightly drunk, Amethyst couldn't stop noticing they were talking about pokémon turning into humans again. But being in such conditions, she didn't honestly mind at that moment.

_"If you have a pokedex, Amy, you can search up what a Zoroark is – they're quite beautiful."_

The purple-eyed woman looked inside her bag. A few seconds later, she took the pokédex out. A couple of years ago, Prof. Oak had upgraded all the old Dexholders' pokédex so they could register info from ANY pokémon they'd meet. Oak called it the 'ultimate upgrade'.

"Let's see..."

Done. The image of a bipedal fox-like Pokémon, and mainly grayish-brown in coloration with crimson and black accents. Its fur was brilliant and, even though its blue eyes gave her some shivers, she couldn't stop noticing the pokémon's elegance.

"True," Amethyst said. "it's very beautiful."

She read the info about the pokémon.

Illusion Fox Pokémon

1.6m; 81.1kg

"Each has the ability to fool a large group of people simultaneously. They protect their lair with illusory scenery."

"Zoroarks are capable of creating illusions that are indistinguishable from reality. However, Zoroark is incapable of physically changing itself into another form, it is merely capable of casting illusions."

"Mmh, interesting." Amethyst muttered. "Its ability is pretty cool!"

So, it was a pokémon that seemed to be able to transform into humans, uh? After all those talks about the presumptive beast, Amethyst didn't know what to think.

"Unova seems to be a very cool region." Amethyst said, looking into Serena's blue eyes. "You have superb pokémons there!"

The song "Reynardine" ended, which reminded Amethyst why she was standing on the first place.

"Oh, Serena, let's go to the bathroom now!" She exclaimed, grabbing Serena's right arm. "It would be cool if I was finished before the rest arrived!"

Since she didn't know where was the bathroom, she waited for Serena to lead her to the bathroom.


	27. CHAPTER 027: Makeup and suspicion!

- N - = Nicky's part

- J - = my part

**Chapter 027 - Make-up and suspicion!**

**- N -**

_"Mmh, I dunno. I can't imagine Riley feeling insecure..."_

Serena nodded. It did seem like Riley was the paragon of self-assurance but, if she knew anything about love, she knew a person didn't have to be self-assured to be good at love.

"Well," She tried to phrase her answer properly, "I think the courage it takes to admit your feelings is a little different from the courage it takes to, say, face a monster like Riley does. Arceus knows, I've felt both." She laughed. "Some people may be very brave when it comes to fighting, but downright petrified when it's time to tell someone they love them… myself included…"

She sighed quietly, but perked up the moment she felt Amy's enthusiasm with her make-up. She'd never seen the purple-eyed trainer this excited before, and it warmed her heart to know she'd connected with the shy young woman.

As they listened to music, Serena's smile broadened. While she wouldn't be able to tell Amy everything about Roark, she'd still be able to tell her about Zoroarks – who knew? Maybe she'd be able to figure it out by herself?

She nodded as Amy admitted they were beautiful. She loved looking at Roark on nights of a full moon, the way the torchlight flickered over his fur, the intensity of his gaze. He was perfectly lovable as a human, but as a Zoroark, he had something else… a hint of danger, maybe, that attracted her to him.

_"Unova seems to be a very cool region. You have superb pokémons there!"_

Serena chuckled. "Yeah, it's a nice place for a visit, but not to stay," She admitted. "Maybe you could come by one day, I'll show you around Nacrene city… Although I have a nagging feeling that silver haired friend of yours might be going there soon enough – it's attracting a lot of trainers these days, especially now that the gyms are being recognised on a National level,"

As the final notes of Reynardine died, Serena stood up and motioned for Amy to follow her.

"C'mon, the washroom's this way." She led the way to a thick wooden door and turned the brass handle to a long bathroom, compete with a long marble-topped sink, and several cubicles. Serena made her way straight for the mirror, laying out cosmetics onto the marble table top.

"I always come prepared," She admitted, indicating the small battalion of compacts and powders, perfumes and salves that she came armed with. She picked up a small silver tube of pale red lipstick. "What do you want to do first? Lips?"

She waved expansively to the make-up. "Just use them." She said in a hostly fashion. "What's mine is yours – unless you need help, that is." She smiled. "Just ask."

Turning back to the mirror, she examined her own face, pulling at her ponytails annoyed. With a grunt, she tugged her pink hair loose from the two loops and shook her head.

"That's not for me." She sighed. "It might look good on every other pink-haired loser in my family, and I may look exactly like them… but… I don't think that hairstyle suits me at all."

As she said it, she shrugged off Roark's clothes. Under his baggy outfit, she had her usual t-shirt and jeans. "Much better." She smiled, stuffing Roark's jacket and trousers into her bag, which she now slung over her shoulder.

"Hey, Amy… remember what I said earlier about being afraid to admit you love someone?" She asked, hesitant. "Well… I don't know…"

She chewed the inside of her cheek.

"I never told Roark about me leaving at the end of the year," She admitted. "I… I don't know," She shrugged. "I just never had the courage to tell him. I don't know how he'd react."

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Stephanie giggled as Roark looked away, uncomfortable, from her foot. She shook it until it snapped back into place and resumed her position leaning against the bench. He really was pretty cute all flustered like that – if she'd been Serena's age, she probably wouldn't've hesitated falling for him like the Joy had.

She was almost sorry to upset him by mentioning the beast.

_"Sigh, Stephanie, you just won't stop, will you?"_

She flinched. She wasn't expecting a reaction quite like that. She'd expected at least a little more enthusiasm from him, but it seemed Roark really did hate talking about that subject.

_"_…_But, to begin with, it's always night when things happen, so they can't be sure. And anyway, Zoroarks are Unovvian pokémon, or didn't you listen to Serena last night?"_

Brown nodded. There was something odd about his expression – a cross between fear and self-control. He was, she realised, trying not to sound defensive. She relaxed slightly, glad he wasn't mad at her.

She listened to his explanation of Lucarios and Luxios, almost convinced. Almost. A lingering, nagging, tugging feeling played at the corners of her mind – something she wasn't entirely sure of told her not to believe every word she'd been fed. As much as she wanted to trust Roark, she knew he wasn't telling her the whole truth.

_"So, Stephanie, there's not such beast… Stop worrying about that, really."_

"I guess…" She admitted.

Rodent purred, rubbing his check against her hand until she relented and rubbed his belly. They stayed that way, the thought of the beast and the lingering silence like a heavy funeral pall over their heads.

Riley's arrival was a welcome one. Glad to have something new to talk about, Stephanie jumped on the new development, asking Roark about his clothes.

_"Oh, uh, well, shirt, trousers, shoes. And Serena always forces me to wear a bow. I'm very simple when it comes to suits."_

She pouted slightly – considering how well-dressed Riley always was, it seemed almost disappointing to find Roark going to the Dance so casually.

"You know what?" She perked up, "You should get yourself a suit! Something nice and fancy like Riley's!"

Riley laughed, "Well, that can be arranged." he added, accommodatingly.

"You have to look good, you're leading the Dance! If you're the first to dance, everyone's going to be looking!" Stephanie insisted. "Think about how much Pinky'll go crazy when she sees you!" She laughed, long, hard, and jarring enough to make the fur on her Raticate bristle. It wasn't exactly infectious, but it did set a smile on Riley's face.

"You can see if anything fits you later tonight when the shop opens for the evening," He offered. "I'm sure Rigel'll let you try something on."

Brown screwed up her face. "Rigel?" She asked, "Is that the name of the old man in the tailor shop?"

Riley nodded smartly, the new fedora rose and fell with his head like a stately crown. "Rigel's had that shop as long as the shopping emporium's been here." He explained as the group mounted the escalator down to the basement. "He's pretty accommodating when it comes to things I need – I'm sure he'd love to help pick out something for you." He added to Roark.

Brown looked at both men. If Roark had been trying to control himself, Riley seemed to be doing the same. While Riley was definitely being friendly, there was no denying the fact that he was eyeing the redhead with the beginnings of suspicion. It seemed almost as if, just like she had, Riley couldn't trust Roark wholeheartedly.

They finally reached the basement and it didn't take them long to find the restaurant Riley had talked about. He was right – it was near-impossible to miss. The Reynardine took up nearly a third of the basement, and was humming with gentle trumpet music.

"What song's that?" Brown tilted her head. Rodent did the same, an ear in the air to catch the final few notes of the song.

"Reynardine." Riley noted, pointing up the restaurant sign. "Quite fitting, don't you think?"

They passed the black stone beast, frozen in mid leap, with a snarl forever on its face… along with something else a little less permeanant.

"Are those glasses?" Stephanie pointed up the a beast's face, giggling. "How cute!"

Still, she tried not to mention the beast itself – she didn't want to upset Roark. She wasn't entirely sure how much he liked being in a restaurant where everything reminded him of the beast.

**- J -**

Amethyst had never felt so assured as when she was with Serena. The pink-haired woman had managed to explain everything about love so perfectly! Amethyst was impressed, and found herself disliking the idea of leaving Oreburgh.

Somewhat different but also very alike, that was what described both women. It had taken more time getting attached to Serena than to Stephanie, but it had been definitely worthy. Not to mention all the places Serena knew that Amethyst didn't.

_"C'mon, the washroom's this way."_

"Okay!" Amethyst exclaimed, happily; she left Riley's jacket on the chair backrest and followed the Joy.

Her cheeks burnt and she felt quite clumsy, but nothing of that mattered to the purple-eyed woman. She was going to, finally, look decent! When had been the last time she'd wore make up? Maybe four years ago, at Pink's house...

Once in the washroom, the chestnut-head admired Serena's wide range ok make-up, mouth agape. Oh! Those purple shades! Oh! She even had black shades! Amethyst was so enamoured with eye shades that she didn't notice the tube of lipstick in Serena's hands.

_"What do you want to do first? Lips?"_

"Uh... I'd love to, but no." Amethyst replied. "I mean, not now. I'm going to eat, it would be pointless if I painted my lips. I'll leave that for the Dance!"

_"Just use them. What's mine is yours – unless you need help, that is. Just ask."_

"Thank you." The chestnut-head said, impatient; she didn't know where to begin. "Gotta love those purple shades... I think I'll combine two of them! I'll use light tones and will leave the darkest ones for the Dance."

Amethyst took two small boxes of the collection of purple shades Serena had. She gave a glance at the black shades and the darkest purple shades: she would use them for the Dance. And she might mix purple with pink or golden make-up!

"I think I'll only do my eyes for now." Amethyst sentenced, after having a look at the whole collection. "But for the Dance, I'm going to do my eyes, lips and cheeks! Yay!"

The purple-eyed trainer made a silly dance while jumping in joy. She finally approached the mirror and started applying the make-up on her eyelids. Serena was by her side, also looking at herself in the mirror.

"Don't worry, I can do it myself." Amethyst said. "Pink taught me."

But Serena seemed more worried about her hairstyle at that moment. The younger woman smiled with sorrow as Serena criticized her hair... and her family, as usually.

"Well, if it's any consolation," The chestnut-head said. "I think you look pretty with those loops. You might not like the hairstyle, but you still look good. Well, you're very attractive, so I think you'd look good with any hairstyle!"

Definitely, alcohol was still in her head: Amethyst never dared compliment anyone's looks. Maybe she should get a bit drunk more often? Well, women liked when people complimented their looks, so she was sure that Serena'd appreciate her compliment.

Without Roark's clothes on, Serena's curvy body was way more obvious. Even with that simple, plain outfit (t-shirt and jeans), she was very pretty. Amethyst looked at the pink-haired woman's reflect on the mirror and bit her lip, kind of jealous. If Amethyst wore that outfit, she'd look like a long-haired boy!

_"Well… I don't know… I never told Roark about me leaving at the end of the year, I… I don't know, I just never had the courage to tell him. I don't know how he'd react."_

The tiny woman turned her head back to look at Serena, one of her eyes already done. There was a worried expression on Serena's slim face which made Amethyst pity the older woman. She wanted to help her. No, she would definitely help her! Serena had always listened to her, after all.

"I'm sure he'd be very sad." Amethyst said; she turned her head back to the mirror and got started on making up her other eye. "And... I'm sure he'd do everything to be with you! Whether it implies YOU staying here or HE going with you."

The chestnut-head really meant what she was saying. It wasn't just to consolate her, it was the truth! Amethyst couldn't be sure about Roark's feelings since the guy was so shy, but there was something on the way he'd held her waist when they danced last night... or the way he looked at her - he always seemed to be in a good mood when talking to Serena!

"You're very important to him, I can tell." Amethyst said, still applying make up on her eyes. "I don't know what kind of things you two've gone through together, but he seems attached to you. I bet he'd be heartbroken if you told him you have to leave."

She stopped, looking at her own reflect in the mirror and flickering multiple times. It looked that she was already done.

"Too bad you have to go back to Unova." Amethyst added. "I said Roark could go with you, but I forgot he's the Gym Leader... Well! You can always come back when you finish your career! It would be in like a year or two, wouldn't it?"

Amethyst turned back at Serena.

"I'm done!" She exclaimed. "I didn't use a lot of make-up, I just went for something simple this time, but... how do I look?"

Trying to imagine how would Riley react, Amethyst blushed. For once, she didn't have to be afraid of showing her face! And all thanks to the woman in front of her.

"Isn't about time we go back to our table?" Amethyst asked. "Your dish could have been served already!"

Not to mention her own dish was already served... Well, it was hot enough. It should take it more than the ten minutes they'd spent at the washroom to get cold.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

_"You know what? You should get yourself a suit! Something nice and fancy like Riley's!"_

_"Well, that can be arranged."_

_"You have to look good, you're leading the Dance! If you're the first to dance, everyone's going to be looking!"_

Roark bit his lip, overwhelmed. He JUST wanted to have lunch, dammit! Why were they planning an outfit for him for the Dance at that moment? Roark was about to facepalm when...

_"Think about how much Pinky'll go crazy when she sees you!"_

Well, that indeed changed things. The miner put his finger on his lips, thinking. He'd always been the one to drool over Serena's looks, but it might be cool if that time she was the one to drool over him. Well, come to think of it, she'd seemed to drool last night when she saw him without his t-shirt, Roark realized.

"Hehe, well, now that you mention it..." He stuttered, coyly.

Riley's suggerence seemed fine, too. Roark would have more free time that afternoon, so he could go to get some suit for himself - after his match against Stephanie, of course. However, Riley still seemed somewhat... distant. The miner guessed he was only being friendly because the teenager was with them.

But why was he so hostile towards him? What did Riley exactly know? Gahh! It was so hard to figure! Not to mention they'd always been friends... Not only Roark was worried but also sad. So, their friendship was ruined?

With those thoughts in mind, the group reached the restaurant. Roark frowned.

"Oh, so they went here." He said.

Definitely, the last place he wanted to go to. Why did Serena like that restaurant so badly? It brought the miner so many bad memories... about his past... However, Roark didn't want to worry anyone, so he hid his annoyance.

_"Are those glasses? How cute!"_

Roark flinched and looked at where the brown-eyed girl was pointing up, not really sure if he wanted to see. Exactly. Glasses. On the BEAST statue. And not any glasses. HIS glasses. What.

"Hey! Those are my reading spectacles!" The ginger exclaimed, embarrassed. "What are they doing there?"

Well, it definitely had to be Serena. Those glasses were inside the jacket she always used to wear everytime she visited that part of the town. If Riley (and Stephanie, definitely) hadn't been with him, Roark would have taken it as a joke, but that was the last thing he needed!

"_Great._" Roark thought, worried. "_More similarities between me and the freaking beast! That's exactly what Riley needs... Sigh... oh you, Serena..._"

Roark looked up again, trying not to look worried.

"Haha, I bet it was Serena." He said, attempting to laugh. "She's such a prankster! She always looks serious, but she's actually very funny, and she loves to piss me off, haha!"

The miner looked alternatively at Riley and Stephanie.

"Well, what about we go look for our ladies?" He asked.

Again, the simple thought of Serena cheered him up. Well, maybe not so much that time (because of her prank, which might have put him in the tight spot), but he was too blinded by love to mind.

Among all the tables in the restaurant, Roark spotted Riley's jacket on one of the chairs backrest. A waiter was serving a dish, while the other one was already served. The meal that was being served was definitely something Serena'd eat. The miner pointed at the table.

"Isn't that your jacket, Riley?" He asked. "I guess that's their table... But I wonder where are they!"


	28. CHAPTER 028: Brown's conclusions!

- N - = Nicky's part

- J - = my part

**Chapter 028 - Brown's conclusions!**

**- N -**

Stephanie had to suppress her laughter as Roark recognised his glasses. Ohh, this was too rich. She was glad to know that a good prankster was in Oreburgh, or at least someone with a sense of humour.

_"Haha, I bet it was Serena. She's such a prankster! She always look serious, but she's actually very funny, and she loves to piss me off, haha!"_

Brown looked shocked. "Pinky?" She stared. "Really? She can joke?" In her mind, Serena Joy was devoid of any positive emotion other than sadistic glee. This was new, and gave her an inkling of new respect for the Joy.

Roark led the way into the restaurant, and noticed Riley's blue jacket on the seat. Brown noticed Riley hadn't gotten himself a new jacket at the shop – although the rest of his outfit was startlingly new and sharp – perhaps he wanted to show Amy that the jacket was something special he was giving to her, something he couldn't easily replace?

Well, she had to give him points. That was a pretty romantic gesture.

_"But I wonder where are they!"_

Brown shrugged. "Maybe they went to get more food?" She looked about the restaurant, searching for a mop of curly brown hair, or Serena's pink Joy pigtails… and then she looked up at the mural, at the beast as it ran from a pack of snarling Lucario, an expression of feminine triumph on her face.

_Her _face.

The beast was definitely female in the picture – so the Zoroark was a girl? She scratched her chin, running the list of women she knew in Oreburgh through her mind (which wasn't plentiful)… And then she realised it.

Serena.

Serena was Unovvian – just like the beast. She had a latent (if not misplaced and bereft) sense of humour, coupled with her habit of documenting the beast's activities and liking Rampardos toys like the beast did…

Serena was the beast.

As she helped Riley push a new table for them, and two more seats to make up six (Amy, Serena had their seats, there were two more for her and Riley, and now two more again for Roark and Rodent, if the Raticate felt he wanted to sit down), a waiter courteously (if not slightly reluctantly) gave Rodent a fat pillow to prop him up in his chair. Rodent bounced himself on it pleased.

She wondered when Amy would be back, and how she'd react to her solving the case.

The band had shifted again. The violinist had moved herself back to the stage, taking her place behind the trumpeter, who'd switched his brass instrument for a tiny pennywhistle. With a countdown, they began anew, this time with a lively little jig.

Brown scrunched up her face. _This _she definitely knew.

_"Before I got to fighting, or when fighting got to me_

_I looked to find examples on the field of chivalry…"_

She spoke the words along with the band's melody, her foot tapping with the tune, familiar to her from years of Christmas reunions.

_"But still I stayed to watch the fighting 'til one figure stood apart_

_In armour newly fashioned and a helm more pot than art…"_

"Do you know this song?" Riley leaned in, a brow raised in curiosity. She nodded enthused.

"My parents sing it whenever they visit… Gold tried to teach it to me when I was learning to play the drums." She explained, before she noticed she'd missed a few lines, and desperately scratched her memory to catch up.

They'd reached the chorus, and the pennywhistle had swelled into an intoxicating winding song that picked up her feet and made her want to dance. It seemed to fill the air, begging for the world to clap and tap and slap their feet along with it.

"Jhotoain, isn't it?" Riley smiled. His fingers were waving, in their gloves, to the tune which he seemed to know himself. "I've heard it before – about Joan D'Arc…?"

Stephanie looked at him incredulous. "Joan?" She laughed. "No, it's just about a random lady – that's the best part – it's not about anyone famous. It's just about an everyday hero, who could be anybody," She hummed along with the tune, not too sure what she was saying herself. "Kinda reminds me of Amy, really,"

Riley listened to the lyrics again, before nodding quietly.

The violinist, who'd begun to circle the room again, waved a beckoning hand to their table, as if inviting a vocalist to join them. Stephanie made a move to stand, but planted herself back to her seat, opting instead to kick Riley in his shins.

The cobalt-haired man stood upright from the blow… before realising what he'd gotten himself into.

As the violinist tugged him to the stage and a round of riotous applause came from the restaurant crowd, Brown sent him a thumbs up which he feebly returned.

"Wait'll Amy sees that." She smiled at Roark, and then at her handiwork, crossing her arms pleased as punch.

"Rririririr." Rodent laughed deep in his nose.

Riley glanced about the crowd as the band played a musical interlude. He shifted uncomfortably at the eyes upon himself, stiff as a board. The violinist, who'd introduced herself as Mairead, began the song again, this time just before the chorus, so he'd be able to start with a familiar verse.

He stood, shock still, his mouth was dry in places he didn't even knew existed. The crowd continued to look at him, their food untouched, as the music rose to an expectant pitch…

He gulped, and opened his mouth. The first notes came out cracked, but his voice soon found itself, spieling the familiar old song:

_"Because she was not the biggest fighter, nor one to raise a fuss,_

_But I remember being proud she was one of us,"_

He thought of Amethyst, of her petite little figure and her wise purple eyes, of the warm swell of his heart every time he touched her hand, of moonlight nights on Iron Island, her body quietly by his side as the surf rolled like music past their boots...

_"And we might never stand together in a shield-wall side by side_

_Because of her, I lift my sword with pride."_

There was a resounding whoop as Riley realised he'd been closing his eyes. He opened it to find Stephanie Brown kneeling on her seat, irreverent and yet in awe, two fingers in her mouth preparing a triumphant whistling.

"Go, Riley!" She called, and blew a whistle that was nearly lost in the applause growing for him. He waved back, a bead of awkward sweat running down his head. Where was Amethyst? He wondered if she could see him like this, wondered what she would think. She'd think he was decided loon, of course.

He was about to clamber off the stage to return to his seat, but a strong hand kept him in his place. The violinist – Mary? – had called out into his microphone:

"We haven't had a vocalist like this guy in months," She laughed, eliciting another round of thrilled clapping from the crowd. "I like his voice." She continued. "It's all silky and velvet… very emotional."

"Go Riley!" Stephanie again.

"C'mon, man," The violinist egged him on, "do you know the next verse?" She cleared her throat: "'she was lady-like~'…?"

Riley nodded, bringing the microphone to his mouth and beginning anew:

_"She was lady-like and lively, not the type you would expect_

_With a braver heart than many and a slot-shot to respect"_

Oh, Arceus, please don't let Amethyst see this. He wasn't the sort of man who blushed, but he found his cheeks growing warm.

_"And I guess she'd once decided this was where she'd like to be_

_And I thought, if she could do it, why not me?"_

Still, part of him wanted her to see him – wanted her to see his heart come out of his throat and flow into his voice, filling with warmth and love and every emotion that danced in his chest whenever she was near…

He remembered Morganite mention her sheer devotion – Amethyst loved him. After all these years she still pined for him. It spurred him on, like a sparking fire in his chest. 'If she could do it, why not me?' If she loved him… if he knew she loved him, he would love her with every fibre of his aching being.

_"_… _No, we might never stand together in a shield-wall side by side_

_But because of her, I lift my sword with pride."_

As the band died down, he sang his final lines in a throw of passion and abandon:

_"Because of her, I lift my sword with pride!"_

He punched a velvet-gloved fist into the air with gusto he didn't know he had. The resounding standing ovation that thundered through the Reynardine was prodigious, enhanced by the whoops and cat-calls from the blonde trainer and Raticate under the mural:

"GOOOO… RILEY! WHOOT!"

Rodent was jumping on the table, cutlery bouncing as he landed up and down. Brown had one knee on her seat and the other on its armrest, the chair shuddering as she clapped.

She turned to the redheaded gym leader, "Do you know any songs?" She smiled coyly, looking well-prepared to send Roark to the same fate as Riley.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Serena had started to pull her hair loose as Amy turned towards her.

_"Well, if it's any consolation, I think you look pretty with those loops. You might not like the hairstyle, but you still look good. Well, you're very attractive, so I think you'd look good with any hairstyle!"_

The Joy smiled gingerly, the corner of her mouth curling up just barely. "You mean it?" She asked, a little quietly. "I mean, everyone in my family looks the same, no one's ever complimented my looks before."

She clipped her hair back into place, both loops falling back against her neck. She'd never thought of it proudly before, but now it made her smile ever so slightly.

_"I'm sure he'd be very sad. And... I'm sure he'd do everything to be with you! Whether it implies YOU staying here or HE going with you. Too bad you have to go back to Unova. I said Roark could go with you, but I forgot he's the Gym Leader... Well! You can always come back when you finish your career! It would be in like a year or two, wouldn't it?"_

True, she sighed. Odds were, Roark wouldn't be too pleased about her leaving, and she didn't want to upset him. She couldn't bear the thought of ruining what they both had had… not to mention his condition tended to show itself when he got too emotional.

Another thought came to mind: what if he couldn't control himself without her? She shuddered.

How would Roark cope by himself if she went back to Unova? She wondered whether someone else would come to help him… and found herself feeling jealous. What if another girl started to help Roark once a month? She clenched her fist.

"I don't know about staying here," She admitted. "I really want to, but if I drop out of my course, my parents might make me go back to nursing school… and you're right – I can't make Roark follow me – not when he has to run the Oreburgh Gym."

She sighed wearily, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"I could always come back to visit him, I suppose," She added, "but Roark… he needs someone to help him sometimes… and I don't know what I'd do if he found another girl to help him."

Amy probably didn't understand the magnitude of the 'help' Roark needed – without knowing what… what Roark was… she probably thought Serena just cooked and cleaned for the Gym Leader. But this was so much more important than Roark finding someone to look after his welfare – it was about his safety, his modesty, his… his humanity.

She bit her lip. "I know I might be overreacting, but I just can't stand the idea of someone else doing my job." She'd seen Roark practically stark nude before – another girl in that position was more than enough to set her on edge. She sighed again, as if trying to exhale the thought.

Amy had finished with her makeup, and looked a doll in it.

_"I'm done! I didn't use a lot of make-up, I just went for something simple this time, but... how do I look?"_

Serena's brooding left her as she send the mousey woman a smile.

"You look amazing," She grinned. It was true, Amy had picked the perfect shade of purple to complement her eyes, which were undoubtedly one of her best features – clever and gentle and something a good man would die for. "Riley'll love it."

_"Isn't about time we go back to our table? Your dish could have been served already!"_

"You're right-"

She stopped, as the music had turned irregular, as if the band had paused for something. A microphone voice had perked up along with the pennywhistle – it was raspy with the beginnings of age, but powerful and rich, like velvet, if velvet had a noise. It was intoxicating, drawing a listener in like the beginning of a good fairy tale.

"Does the band have a singer?" She asked to no one in particular. "Odd…"

"C'mon," She indicated to Amy to follow her, but not before helping the purple-eyed trainer load her makeup into her trainer's backpack. "Let's check it out."

They peered through the open bathroom door before re-entering the restaurant. True enough, the band had gotten a new member on stage, someone she didn't recognise. The violinist had started to compliment him, saying they'd never had a vocalist like him in months.

He had on a clean dark shirt and a vest over it, both crisp sharp and dapper. There was a silky blue cravat under his vest, which added a very dignified touch to the ensemble. A hat sat atop his head, tilted at a jaunty angle – a fedora, spiked at the edges – like the rest of his suit, it was midnight-sky dark, and radiated an aura of reserved mystery.

The man stopped to readjust his collar, and Serena caught a glimpse of glowy blue eyes.

"Is… is that…" She squinted. "Is that Riley?"

**- J -**

Roark just wouldn't stop looking around, kind of nervously, as they approached Serena and Amethyst's table. The dish that seemed to have been served first was still hot... And of course, his roommate couldn't have chosen a better place, in an ironic way. Below the mural. Really, Serena?

Oh, not to mention Stephanie Brown looked delightfully interested in the mural. In the BEAST, to be precise. And she was friends (or that's what seemed) with Riley, so that couldn't drive to a good place...

The miner helped to get more chairs and push another table. He got sure to place his chair near (what he thought it was) Serena's chair. The silence within the trio while they arranged the chairs was mostly awkward. Something had changed on Brown's expression after looking at the mural, though. But Roark wasn't able to get what it was.

_"Do you know this song?"_

_"My parents sing it whenever they visit… Gold tried to teach it to me when I was learning to play the drums."_

Roark looked at the duo and couldn't help but feel... out of place, kind of. He was the first one to take seat while the other two talked about the song. Well, that was something they had in common with Serena, at least, they liked the music. Roark was only interested in fossils, after all. Well, and in certain pink-haired woman...

"_Oh, please,_" Roark thought, looking at the ceiling of the restaurant. "_Serena, come already..._"

She'd give him more conversation than Riley and his new teenager friend. Well, and there was Amethyst too, who wasn't certainly friendly but at least always tried to talk to him.

The red-head flinched as the female violinist came over to table motioning them to join the band.

"_Oh, noes!_" Roark thought, stiffening. "_Please, not me!_"

He felt like a stick, all tense, and really expected them to choose him (he was famous in Oreburgh, duh), but...

...suddenly, Riley stood up. Just like that. Roark seemed surprised. Right, he couldn't sing to save his life but, as far as he knew, Riley couldn't either... or could him? He watched how the violinist led Riley to the scenario as a sneaky smile got drawn on Brown's face.

_"Wait'll Amy sees that,"_

"Hehe." Roark smiled, shyly, looking at the blondie. "I bet she'll be surprised... Heck, even I am surprised!"

He looked at Riley, just like everyone else at the restaurant. His older friend (if he could still dare call him like that) didn't seem pleased at all. Roark was about to facepalm when Riley finally started singing.

"Hey." Roark said, surprised, looking at both Stephanie and Rodent. "He isn't that bad."

Which made him realize he barely knew Riley, actually. Maybe not even his father, Byron, knew the blue-haired man perfectly. It was like... like he couldn't do anything wrong.

_"Go Riley!"_

"Stephanie, _please_," Roark said. "this is not soccer. Could you please quiet down?"

Even the other members of the band were complimenting Riley! Roark remembered why he'd seen him as an idol all those years, but couldn't help but feel somewhat jealous. Would Serena think Roark was perfect like Riley was?

"Oh, hey," Roark said again, scrutinizing eyes. "is he like... blushing?"

But why? Riley wasn't certainly a shy guy, after all. The miner remembered Stephanie's earlier words. So he was _indeed _interested in the younger purple-eyed lady? Roark remembered Riley talking about her to Byron, vaguely. He'd never been into gossiping, but it was still surprising.

_"GOOOO… RILEY! WHOOT!"_

Roark was so shocked to see Riley ending the song with such enthusiasm he wasn't even in the mood to tell Stephanie off again.

"Whoa..." Was all he could say.

_"Do you know any songs?"_

"Don't you even thin about that, Stephanie." The miner said, seriously. "I only sing in the shower, really, I suck at it."

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

_"...but Roark… he needs someone to help him sometimes… and I don't know what I'd do if he found another girl to help him."_

Amethyst, who was taking Serena's make-up back into the bag, felt a mixture of oddness and amusement: while she found strange that Roark needed help, she couldn't help but grin.

"Don't worry, I know what you mean." The chestnut-head said. "I'd go all furious if I saw another woman with Riley, honestly."

...But why did Roark need help, anyway? Other than cooking and keeping his house clean. Or maybe he needed help with the Gym? No, Serena wasn't a trainer.

_"You look amazing, Riley'll love it."_

"Yay!" Amethyst squealed and blushed. "Th-thank you very much, Serena!"

However, she did shut up as the Joy mentioned the new vocalist of the band. Amethyst listened to the voice carefully as Serena helped her to take all the stuff into the bag.

"_Wait a sec!_" Amethyst thought, opening her eyes wide. "_Could it be...?_"

She certainly DID recognize that voice! Amethyst rushed to get out from the washroom, making her way hastily amongst the tables and the crowd, nearly followed by Serena, who would be most likely surprised at the younger woman's hastiness.

"_Is… is that… Is that Riley?"_

When they were close enough to the scenario, Amethyst looked up, totally shocked when seeing Riley not only singing but also wearing a new outfit, certainly elegant. Why was he so elegant? And why was he singing? Was there any thing in the world Riley couldn't do?

"Oh, my..." Amethyst gasped, mouth agape. "Kyaahh~!"

The purple-eyed trainer squealed like a young girl at her favourite band's concert. A few costummers from tables near them looked at her, but Amethyst didn't care in the conditions she was.

"He looks so... so... handsome in that suit!" She exclaimed, blushing and jumping.

Amethyst looked dreamily at Riley, wondering if he'd see her. Well, he definitely wouldn't, since Amethyst was so small. She watched her loved one sing the last line of the song.

_"Because of her, I lift my sword with pride!"_

There was something that pumped inside Amethyst's tiny chest, filling it with hope. Had he thought of her when singing that line or was she imagining things? Maybe Serena was right!

They spotted their table, surprised to meet Roark, who looked flustered, near an excited Stephanie.

"Hey, look, Serena!" Amethyst exclaimed, running towards the table. "Roark's here t-!"

The slightly drunk woman tripped over a chair leg, almost falling off and causing a small racket. Luckily, she managed to cling to the backrest of Rodent's chair so she didn't fall.

"Hehe." Amethyst giggled, dumbly.

"Amethyst?" Roark arched an eyebrow, noticing something out of place in the woman. "Are you okay?"

Then, Serena arrived with them. Roark suddenly stood up, nervous, almost causing another racket: he got up so hastily that he almost knocked the table over.

"Eeh!" The miner screamed, putting his hands on the table and preventing any accident. "Phew... Thanks goodness the wine didn't spill out, hehe."

He looked at Serena, getting prepared for a sermon from her. But hey, he also had to tell her off for putting his glasses on the statue, huh?

"Heh... How are you two doing?" Roark asked, although he was only looking at the pink-haired woman. "I hope you don't mind I've come too, my work got delayed and... well, now I'm here."

Amethyst was still standing, near Stephanie and Rodent, while Serena took seat near Roark.

"Lookie, lookie, Ms. Brown!" The chestnut-head exclaimed, pulling her face close to Stephanie's. "I got make-up! How do I look?"

Deep inside, she was worried that her exhalted tone would shock the teenager, but she didn't mind. Amethyst looked again at the scenario, her eyes sparkly. Riley was getting complimented by the band again.

"I've got to see him sing the last strophe!" She exclaimed, excited. "He's sooo good!"

Roark, who had being conversing with Serena, looked at Amethyst, shocked.

"Is... anything wrong with her?" He asked, pointing at the standing woman. "She seems... slightly altered."

Amethyst didn't stop clapping as she watched Riley on the scenario, like a crazy fangirl.

"I can't believe he's sung this cute song!"

"Amethyst, did you know that song?" Roark asked.

"Of 'coz!" The chestnut-head exclaimed. "I'm Johtoain!"

She stayed standing, impatient to see Riley going back with them. She wasn't sure what she'd tell him, but she didn't certainly mind. Roark sighed, resting his cheek on one of his hands.

"And when will I have lunch...?" The poor man asked, in a hardly-noticeable tone.


	29. CHAPTER 029: Life upside down!

- N - = Nicky's part

- J - = my part

**Chapter 029 - Life upside down!**

**- N -**

When you lived with a man who grew fur and hunted small animals once a month, there were few things that could honestly surprise you.

Seeing Amethyst – shy, quiet, reserved little Amethyst – scream like a fangirling Exploud was, however, one of them.

_"Oh, my... Kyaahh~!"_

Serena stared at the brown-haired trainer, her mouth slightly agape and a bemused expression on her eyes as they watched Riley finish the final lines of whatever it was he was singing. The young woman was practically bouncing up and down as she trilled aloud. Several customers looked their way as they wound past tables, Amy enthralled with Riley's performance the whole time.

Amy really wasn't kidding when she said she should've drunk water instead. Still, the change wasn't entirely unwelcome – if anything, it made Serena smile to see Amy finally come clean with her admiration.

_"Hey, look, Serena! Roark's here t-!"_

ROARK?

She was too shocked by the idea that Roark was at the Reynardine to break Amy's fall as she tripped and scrambled to hold onto a chair's backrest to stop herself from hitting the floor. Thankfully the Raticate sitting in the chair was helping her to her feet with concerned little paws. Stephanie Brown was staring at the trainer with quite probably the same sense of confused excitement as Serena had.

"Whoaaah there!" Brown grabbed onto one of Amy's arms, Rodent holding onto the other, and tried to heave her to her feet. "You okay, Miss Amy?"

Stephanie had heard Amy from the other side of the restaurant (who hadn't?) and a contented smile had started to grow on her face as the new alien Amy did one unAmy thing after the other. The jumping, the screaming, the tripping over things… She could definitely get used to that!

Riley hadn't been exaggerating when he said Serena had made Roark less serious – she'd practically turned Amy into Stephanie herself!

"I don't know what you guys did when we weren't around," Brown managed with a cheery grin, "but damn! You two should do it more often!"

Serena, however, wasn't listening to her – her attention was fixated on the redheaded gym leader now seated next to what had been her chair. Roark was at the Reynardine. And he hated the Reynardine.

_"Amethyst? Are you okay?"_

But… why? Had he come to eat lunch with Riley? Did he know she'd be here? She rubbed her fingers over her lips contemplatively – until he stood up and tipped the table over.

_"Eeh! Phew... Thanks goodness the wine didn't spill out, hehe."_

Serena slapped a palm against her face. Why was he so clumsy? He worked in a damned mine – weren't miners careful by nature? But, wait – had she unnerved him? She felt a little guiltier than she'd been before, half-worried that Roark was sitting in the last place he'd want to eat his lunch at because of her.

Secured in the knowledge Amy wasn't about to fall backwards, the Stephanie had left the trainer with Rodent to duck under the table to pick up a fork that had rolled off it, her other hand had rescued a plate that had tried to slip into her lap.

She noticed Serena's pink sneakers move past Rodent's seat, then Roark's, and then coming to rest as she sat down next to Roark's dark brown working boots.

Making sure not to hit herself with the table, she pulled herself out from under it and straightened herself. True enough, Serena was sitting down and looking at the soup that she'd probably ordered, an unreadable expression on her face – it was equal parts satisfaction and guilt.

"We're good. What about you? Are you alright?" She looked concerned. Odd, Brown thought. She'd suspected Serena would at least yell at him for tipping the table over – why was she being so nice?

_"Is... anything wrong with her? She seems... slightly altered."_

"Don't worry about Amy." the Joy assured him. "We had a few drinks and… and I think we're not all there." She rubbed her temples, as if to help her concentrate.

Well, Brown thought. That explained it – Amy was drunk and higher than a Drifloon filled with helium. Serena seemed to be doing a better job of holding her alcohol, but still, the Joy did seem a little friendlier than usual…

Something was wrong with Roark, too. He was looking at Riley with what seemed like longing on his face – as if he wanted a little admiration too. It was only then she realised she hadn't talked to Roark since they'd gotten into the restaurant.

Slightly guilty, she attempted to say something: "If it's any consolation," She whispered, "I think you're buffer than Riley."

There. A compliment. She smiled contentedly.

Serena's face looked sour. "What're you implying, Blondie?" She said, a protectively territorial edge to her voice.

"I just thought…" Brown began, but then shut up. "He seemed kinda… sad." She simply admitted.

Serena looked at him, long and hard. "You're not… jealous of Riley up there, are you?"

She stretched out long surgical fingers and cradled Roark's sweaty face in one hand, turning him to face her. The Joy leaned in, and for a moment, Brown thought she was trying to kiss him, but she merely wiped at a patch of dark dirt on his face.

"You don't need a dumb karaoke session to prove anything," She insisted, still running her thumb against his cheekbone, where a persistent little smudge refused to leave. "I think you sing great." She admitted.

Her brow furrowed, and she reached for her napkin to help her banish the smudge. Once she was satisfied, she leaned back and away, her face had started turning slightly red, as if she'd only just begun to realise she'd spent the last minute too close to him for comfort.

She cleared her throat. "Right. Ah, there you go." She muttered. "You really should take care of yourself better." She added, as an afterthought.

"Raticate!" Rodent chirruped as a familiar shadow appeared at the table.

Riley wiped a velvet-gloved hand against his forehead. "That… was not something I'd ever do again," He said. "Don't you dare pull a stunt like that ever again, Stephanie Brown." Despite the firm tone of his voice, the cobalt-haired man was smiling broadly.

"I won't," Brown agreed, discreetly crossing her fingers behind her back.

"Amethyst?" He turned to the purple-eyed woman. "Was… was that you cheering at the foot of the stage?" He said it slowly, as if unsure whether or not to believe himself and what he'd seen. "Because I could've sworn you sounded almost like Stephanie."

He pulled off his gloves, resting the back of his naked hand against her forehead, "A-are you alright?" His blue eyes were filling with concern. "Come on, you'd better sit down."

Half-leading her and half-letting her lean against his chest, he walked the brunette to her seat before she could do much as protest.

He sat her down, and looked her deep into the eyes. There was a new layer of… was that eyeshadow? He raised a brow. Was she trying to look pretty for him? He smiled. Her eyes themselves seemed slightly off-focus, and that was when he noticed the wine on the table.

"You've been drinking?" He said, not entirely sounding like he was asking a question. "Oh, Amethyst…" He shook his head, the smile still on his face. "Are you going to be alright? Should I get you some water?"

Brown raised her hand. "I could get it." She suggested.

"Actually," Riley suggested, "that band's going to play the First Dance tomorrow night – and they're looking for a vocalist,"

Brown shook her head. "I can't sing, Riley," She admitted. "The last time I tried to sing in the woods, Pidgeys tried to peck my nose off." She shuddered. "Ugh…"

"Well, then, what can you do?"

"I… uh… I can play the drums?"

"Well, then, they're looking for a drummer ," Riley smiled coyly. "Just go,"

Understanding began to hit her. Riley wanted to spend a little time undisturbed to talk to Amy – smiling broadly, she decided it was time she left both couples alone to brew in their own fermenting romance.

"C'mon, Rodent," She motioned for him to climb onto her shoulders, "let's see if the band wants a drummer for tomorrow night!" And like a flash, she was off – whizzing past tables on her runningshoes and making napkins, aprons and tablecloths fly about in her wake.

"Don't run!" Serena called after her, half-heartedly, but returned her attention to Roark. "I ordered food for you just now, but I was going to bring it back to you…" She droned off, waving to a waiter and whispering in his ear to change her order and bring the meal she ordered to the table instead.

She turned back to the redhead.

"Sorry Roark. I never wanted to force you to eat here. Especially not when…" She waved vaguely, "…You know." Serena sighed.

However, she moved her wine glass out from his reach, her voice firm: "No drinking." She insisted, but whispering softly. "The last thing I need is you losing control tonight. The full moon's coming." A look of worry was written over her pert face.

She didn't – no, wouldn't – tell him about the full moon tomorrow night. Not yet. There was no point of worrying him like that in public, especially not when Riley was around.

**- J -**

"_You okay, Miss Amy? I don't know what you guys did when we weren't around, but damn! You two should do it more often!"_

"I'm okay!" Amethyst exclaimed, overwhelmed by Roark and Stephanie's concern. "I'm okay, guys!"

The teenager worrying about the chestnut-haired woman? Had the world gone upside down? Amethyst puffed and panted, her head a bit dizzy and her cheeks burning.

"You should chill out a bit, Amethyst." Roark said after the incident with the table. "Although this isn't really my place to ask..."

"Okay, okay." Was all Amethyst could say, or so seemed.

She stayed standing between Stephanie and Rodent while Roark watched Serena take seat near him. He started to plan what he could say to her... Maybe he could tell her off for putting his glasses on the statue? But he didn't want to ruin the mood, he was too relieved to see her...

"_Don't worry about Amy. We had a few drinks and… and I think we're not all there."_

"Eh? Oh, hahaha!" Roark couldn't help but laugh; the idea seemed inexplicably funny to him. "Is that so? Haha, I would have never imagined this... As for me, well, I've been working hard. They have probably already told you, but I had to help Riley, Amethyst and Raticate out earlier in the mines, so my work got a bit delayed, that's why I'm having lunch now..."

The ginger was trying to sound happy-go-lucky, but Serena seemed to have noticed his jealous expression. And not only Serena, but the blondie in front of him too! Was it that obvious?

"_If it's any consolation, I think you're buffer than Riley."_

"_What're you implying, Blondie?"_

Roark stiffened, somewhat embarrassed at Stephanie's statement. The girl definitely had no qualms when talking to a stranger! And Serena... Was she being, like... territorial? Truth be told, Roark barely interacted with any more women than Serena, he wasn't certain of Serena being the jealous-type.

...But why was she jealous? Did she... like him?

"Come on, girls." Roark said, a nervous laugh coming out of his mouth. "There's no need to fight over me..."

Amethyst, for once, put her purple eyes away from the scenario and rested them on the embarrassed man sitting near the Joy.

"Then, there's Roark for everyone?" Amethyst asked.

"Wha-what are you saying, Amethyst?" The miner exclaimed, flustered beyond belief. "And why are you saying that?"

The chestnut-head shrugged, as if she hadn't said anything bad.

"You said that 'there's no need to fight over you', didn't you?" Amethyst said. "Which implies you're going to let them share, which implies there's Roark for everyone!"

"I-eh, uh... no." Roark stuttered, speechless; alcohol got kind of an extravagant effect on Amethyst, definitely. "Don't say stupidities, Amethyst!"

The purple-eyed woman shrugged again and looked back at the scenario. When things were more relaxed again, Serena talked back to him, a familiar look on her face. Very familiar, the miner'd say.

"_You're not… jealous of Riley up there, are you?"_

"Eh-uh, of course I'm not!" Roark exclaimed, offended; it wasn't entirely a lie. Okay, Riley could do a lot of things, and Roark wished he could do as many things as him, but he was a Gym Leader and a strong trainer! There was no need to feel jealous.

Roark was cool in his own way! And he wished Serena could appreciate it...

"Listen, Serena," The ginger added, firmly; he didn't want to look like a jealous bitch in front of his woman! "I'm not jea-"

His mind blanked out and he ran out of ideas when suddenly the pink-haired woman caressed his face, her long, thin nose a few inches away from his face.

"_You don't need a dumb karaoke session to prove anything, I think you sing great."_

"Serena, you..." Roark muttered, nervous; he felt the uncontrollable need to pull her against him and kiss her. "You..."

But there were more people in front of them. Not to mention Serena was doing like, the least romantic thing in the world: scrapping dirt off his face.

"You... So you listen to me when I sing in the shower!" Was all Roark could think of to reply. After all, the shower was the only place he sang at.

He felt stupid. Serena might be mad at him for saying that stupidity at that moment, but there was the chance she'd understand... Well, she didn't seem angry in the end.

"_Right. Ah, there you go. You really should take care of yourself better."_

"Hehe, well..." Roark mumbled, rubbing the back of his head.

"Actually," Amethyst intervened again, leaning herself over the table to look at the miner and the Joy. "Roark took care very well of us earlier at the mines, he's a very caring guy!"

The ginger flickered, surprised at the fact that Amethyst was saying something nice. He looked up at her, pleasantly, as if saying "thank you". Roark wanted to talk more to Serena, but in that moment, Riley arrived, which made Roark remain silent for a while.

Riley's arrival'd caught Amethyst by surprise, though, since she'd been talking to the couple. She stiffened, watching Riley dare Stephanie make him join the band again. However, the teen's naughty smile meant she'd repeat that as many times as she could...

"_Amethyst? Was… was that you cheering at the foot of the stage? Because I could've sworn you sounded almost like Stephanie."_

The purple-eyed woman flickered, realizing she'd been looking at Riley in a daze since he'd come back with them.

"Oh... Oh!" She exclaimed, covering her mouth with her small hand. "So... you heard me? Hehe, well, yeah... it was me, hehe!"

Great. Now she was unable to think anything intelligent to say. Anyway, Riley didn't seem angry, or disappointed. On the contrary, he seemed concerned about her. Amethyst stood mouth agape as he touched her forehead.

"_A-are you alright? Come on, you'd better sit down."_

"I-I'm okay... really..." The small woman muttered, blushing, letting him lead her to her seat. She took seat, finally feeling assured.

Amethyst could think clearly, but words didn't seem to find their way off her mouth. Not to mention she was feeling pathetically clumsy. Anyway, she wanted Riley to notice her make-up, so she kept looking at him dumbly.

"_You've been drinking? Oh, Amethyst… Are you going to be alright? Should I get you some water?"_

"Yeah, I've had enough wine, I think!" Amethyst exclaimed. "I'll drink water from now on!"

"_I could get it."_

The chestnut-head looked at Stephanie, opening her mouth to reply. But then, Riley intervened, so Amethyst couldn't help but stare at them. In a matter of seconds, the brown-eyed girl had flown off.

Roark grinned as he saw Serena tell Stephanie off for running at the restaurant. Many people might consider it annoying, but Serena's bossy side was really appealing for Roark.

"_I ordered food for you just now, but I was going to bring it back to you…"_

"Oh! Thank you very much, Serena!" Roark exclaimed, a wide smile on his face. "Thanks goodness you're always caring about me."

However, things turned more serious as she talked in a lower tone to him.

"_Sorry Roark. I never wanted to force you to eat here. Especially not when… You know... No drinking. The last thing I need is you losing control tonight. The full moon's coming."_

"S'okay." Roark whispered. "This time... I'll try to control myself more than ever, I swear... But..." He lowered the tone of his voice even more. "This is not the moment to talk about this..."

Specially when Riley was in front of them. Roark increased his tone again and rested his right arm on the table, trying to seem like he was in a happy-go-lucky mood.

"Say, Serena," Roark said, as if nothing had happened. "why did you have to put my glasses on the statue? Really, you could have forgotten them there and I'd be lost!"

He wasn't actually either mad nor disappointed, but it was the only topic he could think of to not look too suspicious. However, he noticed, Riley seemed busy enough with Amethyst.

After a few seconds watching Stephanie get lost among the crowd in the restaurant, the purple-eyed woman looked back at Riley.

"Say, say!" She exclaimed, joyfully. "Have you seen my make-up, Riley? Serena lended it to me! She's sooo awesome, hehe!"

Oh, if at least that stupid laugh stopped coming out from her throat... Wanting to say something but not being able to was frustrating, and there were many things Amethyst wanted to say to Riley, like thank him for saving her earlier... But maybe not in front of more people, and maybe not when she was a bit drunk.

"I saw you singing!" Amethyst exclaimed. "You were pretty cool! And... hehehe!"

Amethyst began to blush and giggle uncontrollably. Not even Roark, who was conversing with Serena, couldn't help but stare at her and arch an eyebrow. Amethyst tried to control herself: one thing was to be nicer, but another thing was looking stupid!

"I mean," She said, staying still. "I like this... new outfit of yours. Why did you get it? Is it for the Dance? You look gorgeous..."

The chestnut-head flickered a few times, realizing what she'd said. She hastened to finish her wine and ask a waiter to serve a glass of water. The embarrassment was too big to handle, Amethyst felt her cheeks and ears grow warm.

"I'm sorry." The tiny woman muttered; she tried her steak again, thinking desperately of a new topic to talk about. "Ah, this is finally edible!"

After munching, she looked back at Riley, her face totally red. The light purple make-up was hardly noticeable already.

"You must be starving." She said, handing him the menu. "Better make your orders already. And I'm sure you can order for Ms. Brown too, anything'll do for her."


	30. CHAPTER 030: Dancing at the Reynardine 1

- N - = Nicky's part

- J - = my part

**Chapter 030 - Dancing at the Reynardine P1**

**- N -**

Stephanie burst out loud in laughter while Serena turned bright pink as Amethyst suggested sharing Roark.

"Haha, ohhhh… that's rich." She rubbed a tear from her eye as she chuckled. "I don't think I like him enough for that, Amy!"

Serena seemed mollified, but no less embarrassed – her nose was awash with a mortified shade of fucshia. She turned away from her roommate, just as he began to stutter:

"_I-eh, uh... no… Don't say stupidities, Amethyst!"_

"I dunno," Stephanie Brown shrugged. "I kind of like her now. You're pretty funny, Amy," she giggled.

Rodent, bored of the conversation, had started chewing on the plates, his teeth gnawing themselves down to a comfortable length. Brown pulled a saucer out from his paws, causing his to squeak in protest.

"You're so going to make yourself sick if you keep that up," She looked at him sternly. Rodent crossed his arms and stuck out an enraged tongue at her. "We'll eat soon – you can't just bite everything because you're hungry."

Rodent narrowed his eyes.

"Oh come on," Brown rolled her eyes. "You're not mad at me, are you?"

The Raticate shrugged.

"Fine, fine. So I'm the bad guy now, huh?"

Rodent chuffed, a little sign Brown knew meant 'Yes'.

"Oh, you're in SO for it now – c'mere!" She leapt at him, tackling him onto to plush carpet and tickling him in all the places she knew he'd feel it the most. The Raticate squirmed in anguish and pleasure as she tickled his belly, kicking feebly and laughing hard the whole time.

Serena was too busy regarding the smudge on Roark's face to notice the commotion Brown was causing on the floor.

_"Serena, you... You... You... So you listen to me when I sing in the shower!"_

Well, that was… disappointing. She'd thought he was thinking of something else, given his expression, he looked as if he'd wanted to kiss her. He hadn't, of course. Then again, someone cleaning your face really wasn't the most passionate position he could've been in.

"Well, yeah," She admitted, the bridge of her long nose turning even redder. "I think you sing wonderful… soulful, even."

Roark hadn't noticed she'd been listening to him? Wonderful, now she must've looked like a stalker with her ear on the bathroom door. She, to her innocence, hadn't – despite his soft-spoken manners, Roark was a loud singer. She could hear him from the living room on a good day.

She half-wished her Audino was here, at least she could bury her shame by pretending to groom it or something.

_"Actually, Roark took care very well of us earlier at the mines, he's a very caring guy!"_

Serena smiled, relieved. "Yeah, he is, isn't he?" She rested her chin on her hands, a dreamy look in her eyes.

As Riley appeared at the table, Rodent wiggled out of Stephanie's arms. Brown quickly pulled herself back to her seat, smoothening out her clothes with her hands. Riley, who was always sharply dressed, always made her a little self-conscious about her own clothes around him.

Riley, however, didn't seem all too concerned about her attire, not when he was bothering with Amy.

_"I mean, I like this... new outfit of yours. Why did you get it? Is it for the Dance? You look gorgeous..."_

"Oh this?" Riley pulled at his black shirt and the vest that had come with it. "No, I'm wearing something different for the Dance Itself – this was just to change out of my old suit." He chuckled. "Do you like it?"

The waiter had delivered a glass of water promptly to them, which he took graciously. Handing it to Amethyst, he gave her a concerned look.

"You should drink up." He added. "You look… you look..."

How did she look, anyway? She wasn't looking pale, tired even – no, in fact he'd never seen her looking so amazing before – she looked, flushed, yes, but she wasn't looking anything but wonderful. He stared at her, the makeup on her face really did bring out her eyes. They glimmered gently, the same shade of purple that had followed him in his dreams since Iron Island all those years before.

"Well," He cleared his throat, "I guess I'd better order something for Stephanie,"

He moved to his seat, flipping through the menu, and trying to hide the embarrassment growing on his face – had Amy noticed he was checking her out?

"Oh, look, they have a set meal." He turned the menu towards Amy to show her. "I think it comes with a drink, too… whoever drinks chocolate milk for lunch?" He looked at it quizzically and then shrugged. "Ah, well, that girl'll take anything, anyway."

A waiter had arrive, laying the steak Serena had ordered for Roark down on the table, and leaving him free for Riley to place his order. Serena watched him with vague interest.

"He hasn't said a word to you since we came in," Serena murmured. "He told me when we first met yesterday that he wanted to talk to you – but then after they came back from the mine, he's been acting a little different… like he won't talk at all."

She bit her lip. "Is… is everything alright? You don't think he's discovered anything, have you?"

_"Why did you have to put my glasses on the statue? Really, you could have forgotten them there and I'd be lost!"_

Serena giggled, surprising even herself – laughter wasn't something she did often.

"I, well… I…" She rubbed her long fingers over her lips. She was really doing that to show Amy – to give her a hint. But how could she tell that to Roark? "Someone put a miner's hat on the statue last week," She shrugged, "I just… thought it didn't look right until it looked a little more… like you."

She sighed, relieved. It was the truth, still, not all of it.

The room filled with a tapping noise, and for a moment, Riley thought someone was using Morse. The tapping grew faster, louder, increasing in intensity and liveliness as it wound its way through the Reynardine. Riley looked up, and saw Serena was staring at the stage too.

Stephanie Brown had started playing – not a drum kit like he'd imagined, but a small hand drum with a drumstick that she twirled with practised flicks of her wrist. Soon the band had caught on, some recognising the tune and adding to it. The violinist and two members of the brass band had started to match tunes with Stephanie's hand drum, the song turning infectious and addictive, begging a person to get to their feet.

Stephanie turned to the table, knowingly, sending him and Amy a conspiratorial wink.

One of the brass band members had whispered something to a waiter, and together, smiling, they'd begun to clear several empty tables from the middle of the room. The lights dimmed, while new ones sparked on to shine on the carpet of the new makeshift dance floor.

The tempo increased and the music spun enticingly to the crowd at the Reynardine. Several younger customers had gotten the idea, walking to the centre of the room, some dragging their partners along to join in the dance. They took their positions, as if they'd all known the same dance all their lives, held hands, and began to spin in each other's arms in a flurry of movement, madness, and unabashed glee.

Whoops giggles and maddening cheers mixed in with the music, rich and thick like sweet honey. The world was rife with colour as skirts, shirts and dresses flashed in the light, as the group on the dance floor kicked and jumped, swooped down low and scooped their partners up in their arms. Some daring one held their partners by the waist, spinning in uncontrollable happiness as the music filled the room.

Riley watched them as the crowd began to thicken, a look of amazement on his face. The Reynardine was a starred restaurant, catering to the most upmarket of Oreburgh – and here was one teenage girl and a single brass band convincing half the room to dance a common bar and pub dance?

He remembered reading in The Brown Effect that Stephanie could, given enough time and leeway, turn anything into a party, but he would never have believed it till now.

The blonde girl stopped playing for a moment, waving impatiently at the table. Riley stared at her, causing her to pull a face, and wave even harder, as if she could pull them to the dance floor through willpower alone.

He chuckled but shook his head – this was much too exciting for his taste.

Serena Joy had gotten to her feet, hauling at Roark with both her hands. "Come on," she laughed, "it's not every day the Reynardine turns into a dance party,"

Despite hating Stephanie and her enthusiastic guts, Serena desperately wanted this. She was, she knew deep down, trying hard to convince Roark to like the Reynardine – and there'd be no better way than to teach him to enjoy himself there.

Stephanie paused between rifts to wave them over again. Riley sighed – but cut himself short as a burst of red escaped from his belt – Laelaps had let himself loose, and had started on a leisurely stroll to join the dance floor. A little girl with pigtails reached out excited hands to him, and the Lucario took them happily as the pair began to spin with the music. The child was no older than five, and Laelaps was almost twice her height, but the couple had no problem in following the dance, barking in laughter as they did.

"Laelaps too, huh?" Riley laughed – it was rare the Lucario stopped being serious. "Well…"

Stephanie has paused again, waving him over one more annoyed time.

"…I don't know," he turned, unsure, to Amethyst. His voice was a concerned murmur. "I've never set-danced before."

Serena stopped tugging at the redheaded gym leader to look at them both. "Well it should be pretty easy, just follow everyone else. And if Stephanie's playing it, this is probably a Jhotoian dance… I think." She bit her lip. "Maybe you should show him, Amy – do you know this song?"

**- J -**

The scene of Stephanie tickling Rodent was too cute for words, Amethyst thought. She had secretly a soft spot for cute things, but always hid it. she was a girl, after all.

Roark also gave them a sidelong glance from time to time, while Serena tried to clean his face. It was relaxing, specially when things were kind of tense with his roommate. However, the Joy seemed disappointed with his 'singing in the shower' comment, and he was just trying to make things less tense!

"_Well, yeah, I think you sing wonderful… soulful, even."_

"Eh, umh... uh." The miner couldn't help but keep mumbling.

Why was he so vulnerable. He looked slightly down, covering his red eyes under his fringe, to hide his blushing. Since when he was the 'woman' and Serena was the 'man' in their relationship? He observed Serena reply to Amethyst's compliment about his caring.

"_Yeah, he is, isn't he?"_

Was that... a dreamy look in her blue eyes? Roark flickered. They were talking about him, right? And Serena seemed completely enamored. Not to mention what'd happened last night, the small dance, the scene in the kitchen... when they shared the bed... There was something in her eyes everytime she talked to him that was... different, special.

"_Just WHAT the heck am I doing?_" Roark thought, frowning.

And let's not forget all the experiences they'd had together. He had ended up liking her, he could not hide that fact anymore, right? And from what he could see, there were chances that he could success if he told her, right? Then, what was he doing crossing arms, sat near her?

Almost as confused as Roark was Amethyst, who was fighting her drunkenness to not sound dumb in front of 'her' man. However, Riley seemed to take well her compliment.

"_Oh this? No, I'm wearing something different for the Dance Itself – this was just to change out of my old suit. Do you like it?"_

The purple-eyed woman nodded enthusiastically, as she munched another piece of her steak. Amethyst was about taking the glass the waiter was serving, but Riley took it instead, handing it to Amethyst, who felt like a princess for a second. A drunken princess, doh.

"Thank you." Amethyst muttered, taking the glass and staring at the water, blushing.

"_You should drink up. You look… you look..."_

The chestnut-head flickered, after taking a sip of water (which felt incredibly refreshing), and stared at the blue-haired man. He hadn't say a thing about her make-up yet, after all. However, she noticed despite her status, he seemed to have being looking persistently at her as well.

"_Oh, look, they have a set meal. I think it comes with a drink, too… whoever drinks chocolate milk for lunch? Ah, well, that girl'll take anything, anyway."_

Amethyst arched an eyebrow while having a look at the menu.

"Hehe, well, chocolate milk is yummy!" She giggled, not caring about sounding too childish. Then, she approached her chair closer to Riley's a whispered to his ear, just like she'd done earlier at the mines. "I look... what, you were saying~?"

Roark's meal was (finally) served. The ginger, who had been looking alternatively at Serena and Riley, almost jumped in joy when seeing his steak.

"Finally!" He screamed, almost teary-eyed. "Man, I was SO hungry!"

But just when the miner wanted to have lunch in peace, the pink-haired woman near him wouldn't stop talking about Riley. First Stephanie, now Serena. Roark was so tired about the whole 'beast issue'...

"_Is… is everything alright? You don't think he's discovered anything, have you?"_

"Mmh, well," Roark whispered, after munching a piece of his steak. "he went... he went..." The ginger lowered his tone. "y' know, to that cave... I dunno why, I don't even know how he found out it exists, but... apparently, they only wanted to train there."

Roark ate a few more pieces of his steak, awfully hungry. Before keeping conversing, he looked at Riley covertly. Nice, he was busy with Amethyst.

"His Lucario, Laelaps..." The miner added, in a hardly noticeable voice. "even seemed mad at me... But what could they have seen there?" Roark closed his eyes, trying to remember. "Wait. Serena, did you... leave that Rampardos plushie in there?"

And even if that was true, it didn't have to mean he was Zoroark, anyway. But Riley was pretty sharp, not to mention Stephanie was helping him...

"Well," Roark concluded. "remember what I told you last night, Serena, avoid that matter as much as you can... and act as if nothing had happened."

He resumed the conversation on a cheerier tone, talking about his glasses. sure, it was a topic that also reminded him of the beast, but hopefully it wouldn't be the same for Riley and the teenager.

"_I just… thought it didn't look right until it looked a little more… like you."_

"Oh, Serena," Roark snorted. "you-"

"EEH! Ms. Brown is playing~!"

While Serena and Riley simply stared at the stage, Amethyst was jumping on her seat and clapping, looking at the blondie with the hand-drum. Damn, she was good, too!

"Lookie, lookie! People starting to dance!" Amethyst exclaimed, happily, completely forgetting she'd been trying to act cool despite her drunkenness. "It's sooo cool!"

The song was so... carchy, infectuous! Both Roark and Amethyst noticed, only that Roark tried to hid his interest. However, his left foot started to move to the beat of the music.

"Go, Ms. Brown! Gooo!" The tiny woman screamed.

Due to her status, she didn't notice Stephanie's signs, but Roark did, as well as Riley.

The miner noticed, flustered, how his roommate was motioning him to dance.

"_Come on, it's not every day the Reynardine turns into a dance party,"_

"You just don't have enough with tomorrow's Dance, do you, Serena?" Roark asked, smiling with sorrow.

He hated dancing. He hated that restaurant. But maybe a happy dance would make him forget all the problems inside his mind. Even if it was just for a few minutes...

In that moment, Riley's Lucario got out of his pokéball and, for Roark and Amethyst's surprise, started dancing with a young girl. Both young man and woman were mouth agape, just like the blue-eyed man.

"Aww! Look at them!" Amethyst exclaimed, pointing at the strange couple. "Isn't that the cutest thing ever!"

"Amethyst really ought to have a rest after this..." Roark muttered, looking at the slightly drunk woman.

"…_I don't know, I've never set-danced before."_

The chestnut-head was so engrossed looking at Stephanie and being drunk she hadn't noticed Riley staring at her. But she did notive Serena's firm voice.

"_...And if Stephanie's playing it, this is probably a Jhotoian dance… I think. Maybe you should show him, Amy – do you know this song?"_

Amethyst flickered. In her status, it was hard to remember.

"Mmh, it sounds familiar to me, hehe." She giggled. "B-but... how do you expect me to show him if I can't dance worth a damn!"

She wasn't mad, just exalted and nervous. Amethyst stood up (not even she knew why) so brusquely she knocked her chair over.

"Oh, my! I'm sooo sorry...!" Amethyst exclaimed, nervous, bending down to put the chair up again, awfully flustered.

Roark couldn't take it anymore. He started to laugh his ass off uncontrollably, for everyone's surprise.

"HAHAHA! This is too funny!" He exclaimed, still laughing. "Who am I trying to fool? Let's dance!"

Right, he hated dancing. But he loved Serena. Hence, dancing would be worthy. And maybe it was about time to let his feelings guide him for once... He stood up, took Serena by the hand and leaded her to the dance floor.

"This will be a good training for tomorrow." Roark said, while making their way amongst the crowd. "But don't worry, I'll make you pay for this."

He blinked at the Joy, smiling. Without Riley in front of him, he could finally be himself. He gave their table a glance. Riley was still sitting while Amethyst, whose dish was almost empty already (fast eater, uh?), was taking seat again, conformally. Roark almost felt sorry for her.

"Let them be, I'm sure they'll find a way." He told Serena, smiling warmly. "But hey, only one more song and I go back to eat, right? I have work, if you don't remember!"

The miner placed his hand on Serena's waist and stated to dance drawing circles, heartily.

Amethyst looked at them from her seat, starting to remember. Ah, she'd seen that type of dance in festivals from several towns in Johto, although she couldn't remember the name.

"Ah, so it's that song." Amethyst commented. "Ms. Brown is playing it faster, that's why I couldn't recognize it, hehe!"

One more song, Roark'd promised, uh? It wasn't a lot of time, so he had to be fast... He started to dance slower and pulled Serena against his chest, so she couldn't see his determined look. Soon...

**- N -**

Riley moved over to let Amy see the menu. There was definitely make up on her face - the shimmery purple sort that women put on their eyelids.

_"I look... what, you were saying~?"_

Her warm breath was on his neck and her lips dangerously close to his. He felt the urge to turn and grab the opportunity to steal a kiss, but instead, simply cleared his throat uncomfortably.

"Well." He began, slightly uncomfortable. "Well, you look… quite beautiful, really," He admitted bluntly, keeping his eyes focused on the menu. "The colour suits your eyes."

Serena kept her attention on Roark as he explained what had happened before at the mines. How did Riley know about the cave? She rubbed her fingers over her lips again, curious – he'd known a lot of things that they hadn't had to tell him. Maybe he'd read someone's aura and found out…

…Which meant, if he knew what he was looking for exactly, he could find out everything just by reading their minds alone. She shuddered, scared of the thought.

"Lucarios are natural enemies of Zoroarks," She pondered aloud, "He doesn't have to know what you are to be annoyed – it could be an instinct – all it takes would be the scent of a Zoroark on you, I bet. I wouldn't be too surprised to find Laelaps mad at you… but he didn't attack you, did he?" In a suddenly compulsion of compassion, she leaned forward, tilting his face in her hands, and checking for scratches like the kind Stephanie was always covered in. Relieved to find none, she sat back down, her concerned expression once more becoming aloof.

_"Wait. Serena, did you... leave that Rampardos plushie in there?"_

She gasped. Crap. Crap. Crap.

"Ah… well… I…" She stammered. "Uh…"

_"Well, remember what I told you last night, Serena, avoid that matter as much as you can... and act as if nothing had happened."_

She nodded dumbly, still feeling guilty. This could all have been her fault! She would have to have a talk with Riley later – no, not him, he'd be too suspicious – Stephanie, maybe, try to convince them to look elsewhere. It was the least she could do for Roark.

Then the music began.

Serena let herself be led up to the dance floor, all the while resisting the urge to scream in triumph. Roark wanted to dance with her – this was too good to be true!

She loved the expression on his face, that warm gentle smile he wore as the music became intoxicating. The lights were brighter in the centre of the room, and she saw them shine in his deep red-brown eyes, possibly just as thrilled and frightened as she was.

_"But hey, only one more song and I go back to eat, right? I have work, if you don't remember!"_

She chuckled. "I'll try not to forget," And with a laugh, she added, "We only have one dance – let's make it count."

Reaching her hands to wrap around his shoulders, she was shocked to find he'd already laid his on her waist. Excitement ran up her spine as her fingers found his hips, pulling her body against his as the music rose in speed and intensity, turning into a triumphant swell and filling the room with a flurry of song.

The music swirled around them. Serena felt it in her chest, in her heart as it thudded and leapt with joy, in every fibre of her being as they began to spin to the dance. Roark's hair was thrown back with the wind, looking like a brilliant wild fire as they went faster.

Spinning faster, and faster still, Serena found herself smiling broadly, a tiny excited scream escaping her lips. She looked at Roark, at the gentle curve of his lips as they smiled – and for a moment, she wanted more than anything to kiss them. Her cheeks flushed red under the dance lights.

A crescendo and suddenly, Serena became aware of the other dancers edging dangerously close to them. With a squeak, she pulled herself closer to her partner.

"I'm so scared," She admitted in a whisper, a smile still on her face. "I've never felt so alive before."

Rodent crawled out of the kitchen, a pilfered wedge of cheese guiltily between his teeth – no doubt stolen during the festivities. He took his place next to his trainer, and reached for a small tambourine to add to the song. Stephanie laughed, the sound all but drowned out in the music as the dancers began to spin in pairs – skirts, hair and arms thrown out with abandon in the air. Rodent shook the tiny bells on the tambourine pell-mell, not quite matching the tune, but adding to the crazed flurry of excitement all the same.

She turned to the table, where Riley and Amethyst were still, to her frustration, seated. There weren't many other customers who hadn't joined in the dance yet – and she wasn't about to let them miss out too.

Just as she was plotting a new way to trick them to the dance floor, Riley's Lucario had returned to the table, a little girl gripping his paw.

Riley looked at Laelaps, then at his dancing partner, a bemused expression on his face.

"_This is Cora,_" Laelaps introduced her, a hint of a smile on his wolfish features. "_She told me she wants to dance with you._"

"Are you really Sir Aaron?" The girl shuffled her feet and blushed nervously. "I wanna dance with a knight."

"_What would you say 'Sir Aaron'?_" Laelaps bowed deep with exaggerated reverence, as if he was speaking to the knight himself, a teasing look in his eyes. The girl blushed even redder, and looked down at her shoelaces.

"Well…" Riley muttered, "I…I don't know…"

The girl's lip quivered.

"Fine, just one dance and then back to my seat," He looked at his Lucario with a smile. "I hope you're satisfied."

"_Deliriously so, Master,_" Laelaps laughed. "_Now go – your princess awaits,_"

Riley reached out his hand and allowed the girl to drag him, half stumbling, to the centre of the room. He held her gently in his arms, with both her feet in the air, supporting her weight as they began to spin to the music.

"Are you really Sir Aaron?" The girl asked again, timidly, in his arms. "A real knight? Fighting the bad guys for his lady?"

Riley smiled. "Yes." He answered, losing himself in the dance. "Yes I am."

Laelaps watched them go, smug triumph on his face, before turning to Amethyst and extending a dark velvety paw to her.

"_Care to dance, Princess?_" The Lucario smiled. Odds were, she couldn't understand him the same way Riley could, but it didn't hurt to try.

His paw stayed in the air, still asking for a dance. Laelaps wasn't nearly as tall as Riley, but Amy was a short woman and he was large for his species – she was just his height.

"_It'll be fun._" Laelaps added, a cheeky purr growing in his throat, and an expression that promised he had something up his sleeve.

A shifting of chords – as if on an invisible cue, the dancers pulled out of their spin, and took a step apart – they were changing partners.

Serena looked as the dancers split up, timid desperation growing on her face – she couldn't leave Roark. She clung tight to his shirt for a brief moment, not willing to let him go. But a lively young brunette had already taken the gym leader's hands, for better or worse, and a burly blonde man had assumed Serena as his new partner. She turned to Roark, regret in her eyes.

"Sorry." She whispered, as her new partner began to spin them anew.

Riley had given Cora away, back to her mother, and an apple-cheeked woman had taken her place. For an old woman she was remarkably fast. Riley found himself giving a tiny 'wooah' as they danced, much to Laelap's amusement.

"_Come on,_" The Lucario suggested to Amy again. "_You're missing out on the fun._"


	31. CHAPTER 031: Dancing at the Reynardine 2

- N - = Nicky's part

- J - = my part

**Chapter 031 - Dancing at the Reynardine P2**

**- J -**

_"Well, you look… quite beautiful, really. The colour suits your eyes."_

As usually, nothing but pretty words. He hadn't even looked at her when saying that! Serena'd mentioned Riley was in a cheerful mood everytime he talked to Amethyst. Well, Amethyst wondered, where had that cheerful mood gone to, now?

Roark stiffened uncomfortably on his seat while Serena made her speech about 'Lucarios and Zoroarks'. He certainly didn't want to know anything more about that topic. At least for the rest of the day... Amethyst was the only one who never talked about the Zoroark issue, but she was drunk now, so...

_"_…_but he didn't attack you, did he?"_

The miner remained silent, but secretly appreciated Serena's concern... and relief to find he wasn't hurt. No matter how many things she did wrong (like forgetting the toy inside the cave), he would always forgive her, because... Because...

_"We only have one dance – let's make it count."_

In matter of seconds, Roark found himself leading Serena to the dance floor. That way, he could take a small break of all his problems and make Serena stop worrying about the Zoroark issue (which only caused him to be annoyed).

"Don't worry," Roark said, smiling. "I'll make sure to make this a great dance."

The Joy's hot-pink hair flowing in the wind was an incredibly relaxing thing to him. The miner felt himself drowning, little by little, into the rhythm of the music, while they danced in circles, faster and faster. The sparkles on Serena's eyes, the tiny excitement scream that escaped her lips... made Roark feel not only excited as well but also proud. Proud to make Serena feel so happy...

"Hehe." Roark chuckled when Serena squeaked, pulling themselves closer to the other. "Well, _maybe _I don't hate dancing _that _much."

_"I'm so scared, I've never felt so alive before."_

There it was. That was his moment! But Roark hated being direct and blunt as his father, anyway, so he gulped as Serena rested her head on his shoulder.

"Well, you totally should." He murmured to her ear. "You feel prettier than ever when you're 'alive'."

Suddenly, he noticed some couples at the other part of the dance floor spliting up. Crap, crap, crap. Better make this fast. But how? Roark was gentle and soft, how could he make anything fast?

"I-eh... uh." The miner muttered, nervous; he noticed Serena clinging to his shirt - so she didn't want to leave him either, uh? "Well, you see-"

Too late. Roark felt a hand grabbing his left arm and noticed, desperately, how a tall, burly, blonde man grabbed Serena's right arm.

"Eeh...!" Was all Roark could say while he watched the Joy move her lips (as if whispering something) before getting lost in the crowd.

The normal plan would have been to wait for the next partner-changing to go back with Serena, but the brunette who was dancing now with him was leading him in the opposite direction.

"_Damn, damn!_" Roark was thinking, desperate. "_My plan's going down! Gah, this is so frustrating!_"

Despite his worried expression, the woman in front of him looked at him enthusiastically. He could even notice a light blush on her face. Oh, no.

"It's such a pleasure to dance with the Gym Leader Roark!" She exclaimed, pulling herself closer to Roark.

Too close for his taste.

"Eh, yeah. Thank you." The ginger said, reluctantly. Right, he was the Gym Leader (hence, he was famous in the town) and he HAD to keep his good manners.

...But what if he didn't want? What if he didn't want, for once, to be so correct and nice? He wanted to let his feelings lead him that time, and he would definitely do it. What Roark wanted was to finish that song with Serena, no more no less.

"_Now I remember why I hated this type of dance._" Roark sighed while the brown-haired woman looked surprised at him. "_Partner-changing, uh._"

When had he turned into such a jealous bitch? He wondered, perplexed. There was a moment when he and his new partner danced in circles, their arms interlaced; it was then when Roark tried to spot Serena amongst the crowd. He saw her, dancing dangerously close to the blonde man.

"Eh... uh, let's... let's move."

Roark changed drastically the rhythm he and his partner were keeping and forced her to dance towards the part of the dance floor Serena was in.

Everytime she ate another piece of her steak, Amethyst turned her head back to the dance floor to look at the couples... and, of course, at her new friend playing.

"Hehe." She giggled, happily.

Oh, how badly she wished Riley took her to dance... But maybe staying sitting would be the right thing - she didn't trust her feet enough in her condition, after all. It was then when Laelaps came back with that cute kid named Cora.

_"Are you really Sir Aaron? I wanna dance with a knight."_

Amethyst flickered as the child talked to Riley. What was she talking about? How could a small girl know something about Riley that Amethyst -who'd been living with him for a month- didn't?

_"Fine, just one dance and then back to my seat, I hope you're satisfied."_

What? Riley was going to dance with a little girl? As much as the idea was adorable, the purple-eyed woman wondered why would Riley accept to dance with the kid but not with her.

However, Amethyst remained silent as Riley and the little girl disappeared amongst the crowd. Suddenly, Laelaps extended his paw to her. The chestnut-head flickered, her big, purple eyes fixated on the Lucario, who was... smiling?

"Do you... do you wanna dance with me?" Amethyst asked, gasping.

There was something special on his expression; Amethyst wondered what would that mean. She sighed, resting her eyes on her already empty plate.

"Who's that... Sir Aaron they were talking about?" The tiny woman asked although she knew it'd be in vain. "There're yet... so many things I want to know about Riley..."

She got engrossed in her thoughts again. She couldn't understand Laelaps, right, or at least hear what he was saying. But they had been living together for a month, and since Amethyst had a relaxed nature, she'd ended up getting along very fine with the Lucario. Unlike her brother.

"Uh...?"

Amethyst shook her head, confused, when another soft growl came out of Laelaps' throat. He was, definitely, inciting her.

"B-but I... I-I'm..." Amethyst stuttered, a blushing that wasn't embarrassment on her face. "in case you haven't noticed, I'm a bit drunk... I don't trust my feet, Laelaps..."

Then, something made her look up. Partner-changing, and now Riley was dancing with an old woman. A lucky old woman... Suddenly, Amethyst stood up and took Laelaps' paws.

"Okay, let's go, Laelaps." She said, firmly. "But please, don't let me fall or whatever."

Another silly giggle came out from Amethyst's mouth as she started dancing with the Lucario. She would have never imagined herself in that stuation... Laelaps was indeed reliable, noticing how he danced smoothly and not drawing too fast circles to not make her feel even dizzier.

**- N -**

Under normal circumstances, Serena would never have minded changing partners – but not today. Not when she finally got her chance to dance with Roark and make it count.

Her partner wasn't a bad dancer, gentle when turning, and never grabbing too hard. But, still, she found herself darting glances to the other end of the room where Roark and his new partner had found themselves.

"Why are they so far away?" She hissed in annoyance.

"Pardon?"

Her head snapped back to attention, the blonde man who was now her partner staring quizzically at her.

"Sorry," She muttered. "I was just thinking out loud."

The music kept its pace, consistent and painfully gleeful in the face of her misery. The girl Roark was dancing with seemed absolutely delighted. Serena felt a stab of jealously – how dare that little hussy run off with her man? However, as much as she tried being furious, rage wouldn't come to her. No, what she was feeling wasn't anger but, she realised… sadness.

She'd never felt so upset and lonely in a long, long time. Roark was enjoying the company of someone else, and it put her off dancing. Her feet refused to follow the music – not when they couldn't dance with the one person she wanted.

The signal to change partners came again, the large blonde man breaking off with her to hold on to a plucky green-haired teenager with a nose ring. Serena waited for another partner to come to take his place, but, oddly enough found no one. Everyone else had changed partners, leaving her alone.

Well… how about that?

She looked around the room for Roark and his new partner, but couldn't mind him amidst the mass of bodies. Well, maybe it was for the best. She shouldn't – couldn't – ruin his fun just because she was jealous.

Excusing herself, she stopped standing still and began to pick her way cautiously back out of the dance floor.

Couples spun, nearly bumping into her in their exuberance, the song thrilling and fast around her. Serena flinched, ducking, nearly-running to escape the dance, and was almost at the edge of the crowd when-

"Raticate."

Stephanie Brown's Raticate stood between her and the gap at the edge of the crowd.

"Move it, Chubby," Serena snarled. "I'm going back to my seat."

"Rrrrrati!" The Raticate stood on his hind legs, and laid two firm forepaws on the front of her legs, nearly pushing her back into the dance floor. "Cate, raticate!"

Serena stared at the gesture, taking a step backwards from the force – for a tiny rat, Rodent was strong. "You don't want me to leave, do you?"

"Raticate." Rodent nodded solemnly.

"Listen, you," Serena narrowed her eyes, "I don't know how your tiny little rat brain works, but in case you haven't noticed, I don't have a partner."

"Rati," Rodent slicked back the hair at the top of his fuzzy brown head in a debonair fashion, then raised both his tiny arms into the air like a toddler begging to be carried. "Raticate!"

The Joy stared even harder, an eyebrow arching in surprise.

"You mean… dance with you?"

"Raticate."

She turned to the stage, where Stephanie Brown was looking at them both. Catching her eye, the blonde girl gave a wink to her Raticate and the Joy. It took a full minute of perplexed staring before the Joy finally shrugged, boosted the rat into the air by his armpits, and spun around in merry circles with him in her arms.

Rodent's tongue lolled out of his mouth and flapped in the breeze – looking, to Serena, surprisingly adorable.

She drew them in circles, faster and faster, until she remembered the feel of Roark's hand on her waist, the gentle look in his deep brown eyes… and suddenly it dawned on her that there would be no other person in the room he'd act like that to but her. A new determination edged its way to her face.

"C'mon," She led her new partner back to the center of the room, "let's find Roark – I'm going to be his partner again if it's the last thing I do."

"Raticate!" Rodent wagged his tail in agreement.

Riley had been glad to trade away his over-enthusiastic partner for a timid waif of a thirteen-year-old – only to find out his new partner had a bad habit of stepping on feet.

"Sorry." She muttered, after the fifth time she'd put her foot down on his. Riley bit – hard – into his lip to keep himself from screaming in pain. It would've been a lot easier for the both of them if the girl hadn't worn cleats.

"That's perfectly alright." He forced his voice to stay level. It felt like she was attacking his toes with a blunt fork again and again. "Just… try to focus on dancing."

He craned his neck and caught sight of – wonder upon wonders! – Amy dancing slowly with Laelaps. They were going slower than the rest of the crowd, no doubt because Amy was still slightly tipsy and Laelaps didn't want to make her any dizzier than she already was.

Carefully leading his partner, he edged them closer to his Lucario, narrowly missing getting smacked in the face by a woman's long flowy hair as the music grew again, changing into something triumphant, final and definite.

"Last dance!" Stephanie Brown's voice boomed across the room. Followed by the violinist on the microphone: "Change partners one last time, folks!"

Gladly, Riley reached out his hand, scooping Amy to his side by her waist. His other hand reached out and held her left hand in a waltzing position. His face was dangerously close to her's and he thought he could feel her gentle breath against his cheeks.

He looked into her clever purple eyes, glimmering in the light of the dance floor, his heart thundering against his ribs. This was it. This was exactly what he'd wanted.

"Hello, Amethyst," He smiled, chuckling despite himself. "I hope you don't mind ending the dance with me."

Taking a step to his left to begin the spin, he tripped, stumbling slightly in her arms before getting back up.

"I… really don't know how to do this dance." He admitted cautiously. "Do you?"

"Last dance!"

Upon hearing his trainer's voice, Rodent's ears pricked and he dropped down out of Serena's grasp. He waved a little goodbye to his partner with a tiny paw before rejoining Brown on the stage and resuming his tambourine drumming.

The music was stronger now, as if each note was counting down to the finale, becoming louder and louder, building up into a climax that no one wanted to be alone in when it arrived.

By herself in the middle of the room, Serena looked about, wondering who would be her partner now.

**- J -**

It was surprising how gentle Laelaps was. He seemed just like his trainer... and Amethyst hadn't even danced with Riley before! Not even a trip, not even getting dizzier...

Laelaps' gentleness sounded so much like Riley's, really... It made Amethyst wonder how would dancing with him be. She looked around. A tornado of colorful hairs and clothes spinning around her.

"Uuh." Amethyst regretted it, her head getting dizzier.

The purple-eyed woman decided she'd focus exclusively on her dancing partner, just in case. She didn't want to trip and make a mess of her dance with Laelaps. It'd happened that people had changed partners again just when she and Laelaps entered the dance floor.

"I wonder who's Riley's dancing with now." Amethyst muttered, bitting her lip.

A flash of familiar-looking pink hair passed quickly by her. Amethyst risked to turn her just in time to see Serena dancing with Rodent in her arms. With Rodent.

"S-Serena...!" Amethyst exclaimed, but Serena didn't hear her; she was probably going to the centre of the dance floor, surely where Roark would be.

The chestnut-head wondered where would be Roark dancing with, too. Would Serena get to dance with him in the end? Amethyst hoped so.

"Haha!" Amethyst laughed, her cheeks still burning. "This is too rich! Serena's dancing with Rodent and I'm dancing with you, Laelaps. Diversity is such a good thing!"

Amethyst, control yourself, Laelaps doesn't have to know how drunk you are, she thought. She chewed her lip -in a very familiar way- and gulped.

"Sorry." She mumbled. "And thank you very, very much for dancing with me, Laelaps."

She felt so assured dancing with the bipedial dog she even dared to dance in a more free way, like crossing their arms and spinning - not very fast, of course. In matter of minutes, Amethyst found herself getting lost in the music rhythm, letting each musical note enter her small body...

"_Last dance! Change partners one last time, folks!"_

Amethyst opened her big eyes -yes, it was then when she realised she'd had them closed- but wasn't able to say anything. Laelaps was holding loose on her, which made Amethyst feel completely insecure; what if she fall off? What if noone wanted to dance with a dizzy tiny woman?

"Lae-" Was all Amethyst could say.

...Until she felt a hand holding gently her waist. Softly but firmly, her new partner turned her to him. With a gasp, Amethyst looked up, finding out her new partner was no other than Riley.

"Ohmi-" She panted.

"_Hello, Amethyst, I hope you don't mind ending the dance with me."_

Amethyst simply didn't -couldn't- say anything, as she found out Riley's face quite close to hers. But he was immensely taller than her! Was he... approaching his face to hers on purpose? Amethyst's face totally reddened...

"O-Oh, of course I d-don't mind..." She stuttered. "In fact I'd love- Ah!"

Suddenly, Riley tripped. As much surprised as Amethyst was, she couldn't help but starte at him, oddly. Why him, and not her?

"_I… really don't know how to do this dance. Do you?"_

Was he, like... nervous? Riley, nervous? Just what in the world was happening? His chestnut partner stared at him, without noticing they were stopped at the dance floor.

"Heh, no." Amethyst mumbled, looking down. "If you can't dance, how there would be a chance that I -being slightly drunk- could?"

However, the cheerful 13-years-old teen Riley'd been dancing with earlier just passed by them with her new partner and blinked at Amethyst, as if trying to cheer her up.

"How cute." Amethyst giggled, sounding dumbly innocent.

I can do it! She thought. She looked directly into Riley's deep blue eyes, firmly but still blushing.

"I'll do my best." She said. "C'mon, just do what music tells us to!"

After a first, quite quick-for-her-status spin, Amethyst held onto Riley's hand and waist, completely forgetting about her shyness as she drowned in the music rhythm again. She even forgot about her drunkenness...

...which wasn't entirely a good thing because it implied Amethyst forgetting about her limited movements. After another spin, Amethyst tripped, somewhat dizzy, but clinged to Riley's body, which helped her not to fall. The total contact with his warm blue-suited body made Amethyst blush uncontrollably.

"Oops... sorry..." She muttered, not even daring to look at his face, totally embarrassed.

However, other couples had gotten separated from Riley and Amethyst after her tripping, leaving Roark a completely empty corridor to make his way to Serena, who was alone in the centre of the dance floor.

"Serena!" Roark exclaimed.

He held loose of his most recent dance partner (a 52-years-old woman who just wouldn't stop complimenting him for being so young) and quickly made his way amongst the other couples.

"_I... I must...!_" The miner thought.

He was afraid another man would catch her before him, she was pretty enough to get that. Anyway, Roark managed to get in time. Serena was back to him, so he grabbed her by her waist, completely catching her in surprise, and starting to spin cheerfully.

"Hello again, Serena!" Roark exclaimed, happily. "I couldn't leave you alone for the last dance, hehe."

The ginger caressed Serena's shoulder blades before pressing his hand firmly onto her back, swinging her gently in the air, her hot-pink hair flowing within the movement. Oh yeah, like a boss.

"How was it?" Roark winked at Serena. "I saw a couple do it earlier, and I wanted to try it myself, haha!"

He put her up again, moving slowlier, just in case she'd got dizzy. Maybe he had been being to fast, after all.

"I-I think I'm getting too enthusiastic at this, am I?" Roark asked, coyly. "I just... want to improve for tomorrow's Dance, because I want it to be very special..."

That's it, if the full moon let him... Roark bit his lip, now his right arm crossed with Serena's left arm as he felt the song was coming to an end... it was now or never, but Roark didn't even know how to start...

"_I know! I'll give her a small kiss on her nose and then ask her out for the Dance!_" He thought.

Definitely, a kiss would make everything softer. Last night he'd given her a kiss on the forehead, now he would for the forehead and later that night...

However, things didn't go as planned. Due to Serena's movements Roark ended up planting the kiss on her lips. It was plain and not very passionate (since it was aimed for the nose), but definitely not what he wanted at that moment.

"Uh..." He muttered, blushing. "I'm sorry..."


	32. CHAPTER 032: Unexpected kiss!

- N - = Nicky's part

- J - = my part

**Chapter 032 - Unexpected kiss!**

**- N -**

Riley stumbled to his feet, a little embarrassed. This wasn't like him at all – all this fumbling, tripping… being generally less-than-impeccable wasn't something he was used to.

He was a maestro at the waltz – he'd grown up with slow dances after all – but this? This was too fast, too sudden, too… too emotional all at once.

Amethyst had gasped as he fell – maybe just as surprised to see his lapse of grace as he was.

_"Heh, no. If you can't dance, how there would be a chance that I -being slightly drunk- could?"_

His chest fell, feeling slightly discouraged. As much as this made him feel, well, awkward, he would've enjoyed Amethyst by his side… He would've enjoyed that more than anything.

Just as he was about to lead them both off the dance floor, the girl with cleats spun by them both, sending his new partner a gentle encouraging wink. It seemed to fill her up with confidence as she declared:

_"I'll do my best. C'mon, just do what music tells us to!"_

Riley smiled, holding her hand. Together, they attempted to join the dance –

Only for Amethyst to fall bodily into his chest. She seemed fixated to stare at the gold chain he wore, perhaps a little embarrassed to look him in the eye. Despite himself, he found a smile on his face.

With gentle fingers, he took her chin and lifted it gingerly to face him. His deep blue eyes found her purple ones, wide and brimming with stars under the dance floor lights.

"You don't have to worry about being embarrassed around me, Amethyst." He whispered. "Come on, let's try this again."

This was nothing like a waltz – it was liberal, wild, maddening, even. Still, they weren't going nearly as fast as his previous partners, especially since he had to keep an eye out for how dizzy poor Amy was getting now that the wine was taking its toll on her. It was – dare he say it? – comfortable. For the first time ever, he'd joined a set dance instead of just watching it – and he was enjoying himself.

They danced together, not spinning madly by the waist like the other couples, but with her tight against him, their arms in the old waltzing position he was familiar with. He closed his eyes and smelled the wine that floated off her. With a smile, he rested his chin on the top of her head, feeling just how perfect the world was.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

There was a certain sort of satisfaction to see Roark was the person she'd end the dance with – it was so perfect. Serena let him twirl her around the floor, excitement building in her shoulder blades as his hands touched them.

_"I-I think I'm getting too enthusiastic at this, am I? I just... want to improve for tomorrow's Dance, because I want it to be very special..."_

"No, no," Serena laughed, "this is perfect. I'm having the time of my life."

As they continued to spin, she wondered whether Roark knew about the full moon. He'd never been able to stay human for a full night before… it would take the slightest provocation for him to transform…

She opened her mouth, perhaps to tell him, but hesitated as she saw his expression. He was planning something, thinking, and she didn't want to spoil the moment. Not when they both were so happy, when everything was just so perfect…

She spun back, the momentum knocking her off slightly – and bringing her lips into Roark's.

A bright flush of red dashed across her face, turning into extreme pleasure as it dissipated down her spine. Roark was quick to pull away, probably from embarrassment.

_"Uh... I'm sorry..."_

Serena stared in amazement, then smiled deviously.

"Don't be." She said, cupping the back of his russet-red hair in her hand. She tilted her head and leaned in close to his gentle face, bringing her lips to his once again. It felt like everything she could ever ask for, her body alive with tiny fireworks of glee. She arched her back, leaning in, her fingers ran themselves through his hair in a gentle sort of abandon she never had before.

And, for a moment, nothing else existed but the two of them.

The sound of clapping alerted her to the end of the dance and, reluctantly, she pulled away. Everyone was standing still now, the large crowd applauding the band. Stephanie Brown and Rodent took a deep bow along with the rest of the band – before bounding off the stage and pushing through the crowd to Amy and Riley.

"Guys! Guys! Guys!" Stephanie was nearly bursting, "They want me to play for the Miner's Dance tomorrow night! They liked it!"

She picked up Rodent and tossed him into the air, the Raticate protesting loudly in the air before she caught him squarely in her arms. "This is going to be perfect, Miss Amy! Do you have any song requests? I already convinced them to do another round like this tomorrow night!"

Riley seized the opportunity – maybe he could finally get a dance tomorrow night that he was good at!

"Could they do Mr Beveridge's Maggot?" He asked.

Stephanie abruptly stopped hopping on the balls of her feet. Riley could almost hear the sound of a needle scratching vinyl.

"Say _what_?"

"It's a… urm…" He pulled at his collar. "A regency dance, the kind in Old Sinnoh. I think they still do them in Rota?" Stephanie stared at him quizzically, Rodent had his head tilted curiously to a side. "I… I grew up on those." He tried to explain.

"That sounds… stuffy." Stephanie said frankly, but shrugged. "But what the hey, I'll go ask them. Wait here."

The sound of runningshoes whirring to life, and she was gone as quick as she came.

"That girl's going to smack her face against something eventually." Serena padded over to join them, her hand still holding tight to Roark's. "She runs too fast."

The waiters had begun moving tables back, as diners resumed their seats, almost none of them mentioning how incredibly wild their last fifteen minutes had been.

Riley seemed perturbed. "Do I really sound stuffy?" He stiffly asked no one in particular, his voice incredulous. "I'm old fashioned, yes, but… _stuffy_?"

**- J -**

The blush on her face was unbearable, her eyes almost teary. Amethyst looked up as Riley took her for her chin: those blue, precious eyes fixated on her purple ones... and his gentle mouth was featuring a warm smile. But why was he smiling? What was he thinking about?

"_You don't have to worry about being embarrassed around me, Amethyst. Come on, let's try this again."_

"I-I'm not embarrassed!" Amethyst lied.

But it was too obvious that she was ashamed. Damn, the embarrassment was too big to handle... The drunkenness didn't quite help, either...

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Roark's embarrassment was beyond belief as well. At least at that moment. He had just kissed who was probably the most dominant woman in Sinnoh. How would his death be? Ass kicking? A punch in the face? A kick in the...? Ugh...

"_Don't be."_

The miner flickered. Just two words? Wasn't she even upset? However, Roark didn't have time to think. Serena pulled her lips against his... suddenly, just like that.

"S-Se-" Was all Roark could say before getting lost in the marvelous sensation the kiss gave to him.

He felt the woman's fingers caressing his red hair with a passion he didn't know she had. Excitement went through his body as he fervently replied to Serena's kiss. Maybe it was indeed what he was looking for, after all...

...and, like that, everything ended. The stopping of the music and the clapping from the crowd made Roark flinch and look around. He felt Serena holding loose on him, but didn't pay much attention. Would have anyone seen them kissing? The ginger wondered.

"Uh, wait, Serena." Roark suddenly said, grabbing the pink-haired woman by her arm. "I have to ask you something."

The Joy was looking at the cheerful Stephanie and Rodent, who were making their way throughout the crowd to go back with Amethyst and Riley.

"Well, you see," Roark muttered. "I was wondering if... if you'd want to go to the Dance with me."

Why was his voice sounding so stupid? Ugh.

"I-It's okay if you don't want to, really." He hastened to add, just in case. "Just, please... don't tell anyone... Last thing I want is Stephanie bothering you about that, hehe."

Roark blushed and gulped. He wondered (again) when he'd become the woman of the relationship... The miner expected Stephanie (& Co.) to come back with them in brief, so he really wished Serena would give him an answer as soon as possible.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Amethyst hadn't even noticed the dance had ended. After a few gentle, slow spins, Riley had decided let her lean over his chest. The tiny woman's head had been gracefully landed on Riley's chest, while his chin had been resting on the top of her head.

"_This is, like... heaven._" Amethyst was thinking, unaware of the stopping of the dance.

"_Guys! Guys! Guys! They want me to play for the Miner's Dance tomorrow night! They liked it!"_

The screams made the purple-eyed woman go back to reality. Just, what the...? Oh yeah, Stephanie Brown and Rodent had just arrived with them. Riley was still holding her (maybe to help her not to fall?). Amethyst flickered, the drunkenness didn't let her hear perfectly, but oh well.

"_This is going to be perfect, Miss Amy! Do you have any song requests? I already convinced them to do another round like this tomorrow night!"_

"Th-that's so cool, Ms. Brown!" Amethyst exclaimed, clapping (again). "I knew you could do it! As for the s-"

"_Could they do Mr Beveridge's Maggot?"_

The chestnut-head stared at Riley. 'Mr Beveridge's Maggot'? She'd definitely heard of it before... Maybe Platina Berlitz talked about it to her someday? While Amethyst tried to remember, the conversation ended.

"_That sounds… stuffy. But what the hey, I'll go ask them. Wait here."_

"Oh, my." Amethyst said, looking at the young girl get lost amongst the crowd.

It was then when Roark and Serena got back with them.

"Oh, that girls never stops." The ginger said, sounding a lot like Serena.

Roark tried to hide the fact that they were holding hands. As much as he didn't want anyone to know (at least for now), he couldn't resist but let his fingers get interlaced with Serena's.

Despite her drunkenness, Amethyst noticed that, but she was too dizzy to talk about it...

"_Do I really sound stuffy? I'm old fashioned, yes, but… stuffy?"_

"Hahaha!" Roark laughed. "Well, well, my friend, you're indeed old-fashioned and some of your manners are indeed stuffy, but I don't think it's a bad thing. Some ladies like it!"

He was so euphoric about his kiss with Serena that he had even forgotten about Riley's hostility towards him... The miner winked at Amethyst after saying the last words.

The chestnut-head didn't notice, but didn't certainly need it either.

"Riley! Y-You're not st-stu...!" Amethyst exclaimed, not knowing how to talk. "You... you ARE perfect this way!"

She covered her mouth with her hands, not believing what she'd said. The purple-eyed trainer mumbled some intelligible things before turning to their table.

"Haha, okay... Let's go back to have lunch!" Roark exclaimed. "Some of your dishes might be quite cold already!"

He looked at Stephanie and her rat.

"Although we can always ask Rodent for help, now can't we?" The ginger added.

As soon as they got back to their table, he noticed Amethyst's empty plate.

"Oh whoa, Amethyst, you already finished your meal!" He exclaimed. "You are SURE fast!"

"Hehe, yeah..." Amethyst muttered, blushing.

She wasn't sure anymore why she was blushing... The group took seat again and got back to eat.

**- N -**

_"Well, you see, I was wondering if... if you'd want to go to the Dance with me. I-It's okay if you don't want to, really."_

It took a moment, maybe two, before Serena realised exactly what the question meant.

"I… I-I…" She stammered before breaking out into a genuine toothy grin – which were rare, coming from Serena . The words tripped off her tongue, marring her speech. Her brow furrowed of all times for her to get nervous!

With an annoyed groan, she shrugged, and bodily brought Roark's face to her's again, locking her lips with him for one more brief kiss. It lasted for a second, maybe two, but she gasped for air as she pulled away.

"Yes!" She grinned again. "Yes, I'd love to!"

As they gathered around the table, Riley thought about just how 'stuffy' he'd been since he'd been to Oreburgh – he hadn't, he realised, talked to Roark decently since, well, since the morning he discovered the cave.

And, considering how friendly Roark was being – the boy was naturally sociable, it helped him connect with the miners he worked with – it didn't seem quite fair.

_"Hahaha! Well, well, my friend, you're indeed old-fashioned and some of your manners are indeed stuffy, but I don't think it's a bad thing. Some ladies like it!"_

Riley was one to keep his distance from most people – he was never sure how to predict them. He'd spent the better part of his childhood in etiquette classes, people who talked to him spoke lines they'd rehearsed, people moved according to the clockwork custom they'd been taught was right.

It didn't work that way in reality. People were unpredictable, unstable; it frightened him, honestly. Spending his time on Iron Island was the perfect excuse to get away from it all, that uncertainly that surrounded his every encounter with another person.

He was all about control, and Amethyst? She upset everything, the way his heart just couldn't beat regularly with her about, the way he'd want to bend over backwards to spend time with her, even though it ruined the training timetable he'd planned in his mind for Diamond. He loved it – it was the only acceptable break from tradition he quite enjoyed.

And now, here she was:

_"Riley! Y-You're not st-stu...! You... you ARE perfect this way!"_

He looked at her outburst, startled, before smiling gently. With a bare hand, he picked up her tiny delicate porcelain hand and squeezed it warmly.

"Thank you, Amethyst," He murmured, "I've often wondered what it'd be like if I'd change – just to lose myself, be wild, for one night. I don't know if I'd like it."

"You won't." Serena answered automatically, as if she'd seen first-hand just how terrifying being 'wild' and losing control was firsthand. "Trust me," She quickly explained, "control's a pretty nice thing to have."

Stephanie had returned, the group going back to their meal at the table like they'd done before.

Rodent was mysteriously full as he clambered up to sit at the table – the Reynardine had lost an economy-sized wheel of cheese from their cellar sometime during the dance – but ate whatever Stephanie shovelled in front of him anyway.

His trainer took a sip of the drink she'd been given, and proceeded to turn a brilliant shade of pale green. Sniffing it, and then gagging visibly, she pushed the glass of chocolate milk gingerly away from her. The rest of her meal was spent eyeing the chocolate milk like she would a cancerous tumour – a mix of suspicion, disgust and undying hatred.

She narrowed her gaze at the offending drink.

Riley hadn't noticed, although Serena certainly had. The Joy made it a point to stock up on more chocolate milk. Just in case.

_"Oh whoa, Amethyst, you already finished your meal! You are SURE fast!"_

As if on that signal, Serena began to pack her things, preparing to leave when Amy did.

"Which reminds me," The pink-haired woman lifted her head, "Riley, if you're going back to the tailors, could you take my dress with you? I'm taking Amy back to the apartment after this; she needs to sleep that alcohol off." It wasn't a request – Brown knew she hadn't asked Amy about it – but more of a matter-of-fact decision she'd come up with on her own. She wondered whether Serena was just as forceful with Roark.

Riley accepted the dress bag she handed him, folding it gently into his lap. He said nothing, but looked at Roark from time to time, as if trying to make up his mind. Eventually, he cleared his throat and asked:

"Roark," he began hoarsely, "is it possible I could speak with you tonight? I've been meaning to ask you something, but I've never really figured out how to go about doing it."

Stephanie stopped rubbing her steak over her tongue and looked up at the Aura guardian. The man wasn't looking Roark in the eye, instead, he was looking intently at Serena's dress peeking out from under the bag. In careful pink thread, the name

SERENA

had been sewn under a hem. He'd found a loose, long strand of hair and was rolling it between his thumb and index finger – it was like no human hair Stephanie'd ever seen before – red tapering to a black tip, as curling and coarse as animal fur.

She saw Serena eyeing the cobalt-haired man, her eyes steely and unfriendly – finally, Riley was talking to Roark… and not even having the balls to look him in the eye as he did.

They finished their food in an awkward sort of silence that made Stephanie shift uncomfortably. Even Rodent sensed it; he kept his ears plastered to his head until the group paid for the bill (Riley footed it easily) and meandered to the mouth of the Reynardine.

"I'll be going back to the tailor's." Riley turned to Brown and repeated. "Are you coming, Miss Brown?"

"Naah," She shook her head, "I found some trainers in the atrium – they'd be great great great for giving Rodent a little more practice before tonight!"

Riley chuckled. "Well, then," He turned to the miner. "I'll see you at dinner, Roark? We can talk in the kitchen."

Serena turned a concerned face to the redheaded man, as if asking "Are you sure you want to do this?" with her glance. Regardless of the answer, she leaned over and pecked him quickly on the cheek before returning to Amy and steering her by the shoulders to the escalator and the ground floor back to their apartment.

"C'mon Amy," She began, "I've got something to tell you."

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

She waited until the two women had climbed the six floors to the apartment door, until she'd shoved the key into its lock, turned it, and let them both inside.

She set the bushy-brown-haired woman down onto the sofa, while she took a big comfy chair that, from the looks of it, she'd spent a lot of time in.

"Amy, I wasn't going to say this in front of Stephanie," She leaned forward, in a conspiratorial whisper. "Roark asked me to the dance!"

With a smile of triumph on her long features, she leaned back out again.

"I said 'yes'!" She was grinning with delight, but forced her face to sombre seriousness again. This was important. "You'll have to keep it a secret, though." She began.

This was it – the moment whether or not she could trust Amy with whatever she would tell her next:

"But that's not exactly what I meant to tell you," She whispered. "First – how good are you at keeping secrets? I mean, keeping secrets from Riley and Brown?"


	33. CHAPTER 033: The secret!

- N - = Nicky's part

- J - = my part

**Chapter 033 - The secret!**

**- J -**

Roark's happiness couldn't be measured. Not only he was going to go to the Dance with Serena but also she'd kissed him several times! Who cared if Riley suspected oh him? Well, at least in that moment... However, his comment abut Riley's stuffy-ness wasn't bad-intentioned, anyway. The miner wanted to keep his friendship with the blue-haired man... After all...

Amethyst, however, didn't know how to feel. What would Riley think abou her? Not that complimenting him was a bad tihng, but maybe he'd think she was too... blatant?

"_Thank you, Amethyst, I've often wondered what it'd be like if I'd change – just to lose myself, be wild, for one night. I don't know if I'd like it."_

The chestnut-head flickered and looked at the man who was grabbing her hand at that moment.

"B-be wi-wild... for one n-night?" Amethyst repeated, blushing uncontrollably.

Was he meaning what she was thinking...?

"_You won't. Trust me, control's a pretty nice thing to have."_

Amethyst stared at the pink-haired woman, surprised. What was all that about? What did the Joy mean? Why couldn't she understand? Was she _that _stupid, or drunk for that matter?

Then, Stephanie arrived. Good. It wouldn't be so hard to understand the stubborn teenager.

"Welcome back, Ms. Brown." Amethyst mumbled. "So, did they agree to play that song you two were talking about?"

She watched Rodent (who was mysteriously fatter than usual) ate all his trainer gave to him.

Roark was already eating, giving Serena a glance each... five seconds? He was certainly fast at eating, too, just like Amethyst. He needed to be done soon, there was much work to do after lunch!

"Uuh?" The purple-eyed lady noticed Stephanie doing faces after tasting her drink. "You don't like it, Ms. Brown?"

Amethyst patted Stephanie's back.

"There, there." The older woman said.

"You don't like chocolate milk?" Roark asked, after having a look at Stephanie's glass. "How could you? It's delicious...!"

"There, you can have some water." Amethyst added, handing the teen her glass of water. "I'm already done anyway..."

It was then when Amethyst noticed Serena packing her things.

"_...I'm taking Amy back to the apartment after this; she needs to sleep that alcohol off."_

"Oh, yes, please." The chestnut-head begged, relieved because she was going to finally have some rest.

While Riley folded Serena's dress onto his lap, Amethyst took Riley's jacket and covered her own shoulders with it as well.

Suddenly:

"_Roark, is it possible I could speak with you tonight? I've been meaning to ask you something, but I've never really figured out how to go about doing it."_

Roark stiffened on his seat.

"Well, yeah," He said. "to be honest, I was thinking the same... Serena told me yesterday you wanted to talk to me, so I was wondering what would that be..."

Amethyst looked at the miner and his old friend. Again, the tension on the air... Riley wasn't even looking into Roark's eyes. Just what the hell was Riley thinking about Roark?

Roark finished his meal, and so the others did. After Riley paid, the group got out of The Reynardine.

"_Well, then, I'll see you at dinner, Roark? We can talk in the kitchen."_

The red-head flinched; he was too fixated staring at Stephanie and Rodent to notice Riley was talking to him.

"Eh? Yeah, sure." He nodded, before putting his hard-hat on. "I'll be there, Riley."

Roark gave Serena a quick glance, which she used to peck on his cheek. The miner blushed; whatever was going to happen, he would bear it... because he had the Joy to support him...

"Well, I must go back to work." Roark said, a smile on his face. "Take care, guys."

"Bye." Amethyst mumbled, sleepy.

Then, she felt Serena's hand grabbing her shoulders and pulling her away.

"_C'mon Amy, I've got something to tell you."_

"Eh... uh, o-okay." The poor woman muttered; she gave Riley and Stephanie a glance. "La-laters..."

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Once back in Roark's apartment, everything felt so... quiet, relaxing. Amethyst had longed that for a whole day...!

"Thanks, Serena." She mumbled as the older woman helped her to take seat.

So, alone again, uh?

"_Amy, I wasn't going to say this in front of Stephanie, Roark asked me to the dance! I said 'yes'!"_

It took Amethyst a few seconds to process that info. As much as she wasn't surprised, she was too drunk to think cleverly.

"I-I'm... so happy for you, dear!" Amethyst exclaimed. "I told you! I knew it! You are... so lucky..."

The longing was too much obvious to not notice on Amethyst's tone. She'd really wished Riley had asked her...

"_But that's not exactly what I meant to tell you. First – how good are you at keeping secrets? I mean, keeping secrets from Riley and Brown?"_

Amethyst flickered.

"A secret?" She asked. "Why, yes. I certainly don't mind keeping a secret from my friends, specially since you're my friend, too."

The purple-eyed trainer shrugged and lolled around the sofa. She looked into Serena's blue eyes, her cheeks burning. She needed that sleep so badly...

"So," Amethyst said. "what's that 'secret' you want to tell me, Serena?"

**- N -**

"You're getting fat." Brown put her hands under Rodent's armpits and lifted – he felt like a heavy backpack, or a cinderblock.

"Raticate." Rodent grunted. She let him fall back onto the floor of the shopping mall, his tiny claws hitting the tiles with assorted clicks. He was much too bloated to do anything beyond lying down next to the fountain. Battling was out of the question.

"What were you eating back there?" She crossed her arms and tapped her foot at him, annoyed. Rodent copied her movements exactly, which only served to bring a scowl to his blonde trainer's face.

"Well, thanks to you, we can't battle anyone."

Rodent's ears fell with the realisation. He looked almost guilty.

Gingerly, he put a forepaw in his mouth and pulled out half a wedge of cheese from the inside of his cheek. It was roughly the size of Brown's head. He looked at her, as if wondering whether dropping his cargo would make him more battle-ready.

"Ohh, that's so gross." His trainer laughed. "But that's sweet of you." She took the saliva-covered cheese with the tips of her fingers and dumped it into the nearest trashbin. Without a word, she wiped her fingers on her skirt and started towards the sound of battling trainers outside the mall.

"Come on," She said, "maybe we can go beat up some youngsters or something. They all use Starly – how hard can that be?"

Rodent wagged his tail and trotted alongside her.

"Okay, let's go over what we know." Brown spread out her fingers, five of them, and began counting. "One – there's a black beast running around town, according to the papers and in the mine. It's probably the same thing at the Reynardine, and probably a pokemon. "

"Raticate."

"Two – Roark and Serena are probably on this and they've got something to hide."

"Raticate."

"Three – Serena's notebook said the beast turns into a human and back."

"Raticate."

"Four – The beast at the restaurant's female."

"Ratirarrr?" Rodent's head tipped to a side, as if asking how she knew.

"It's got diddies in the painting, Rodent." She pointed to her chest. "That's kind of common sense."

"Raticate." He shrugged.

"And five – the only female we met in Oreburgh that's trying to hide anything is Serena. Ergo, Serena's totally totally totally the beast. Case closed closed closed." By now, her outstretched fingers had turned into a fist. She looked at it, satisfied.

"We so totally have this case in the bag." She beamed.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Serena Joy crossed her legs primly in her seat. It had been her favourite chair after moving in with Roark and had been worn into a soft yielding mess by its previous occupant. According to Roark, that had been Byron's chair and, although it smelled suspiciously sweaty in places, it had been broken-in perfectly.

It was a good place to read, the autumn sun from the window behind it shedding the last of the afternoon light onto her lap. On days before the full moon, she'd catch Roark lying in it, trying his best to savour the last of the sun before the moon rose.

The sunlight filtering in was gold-yellow (the same colour, she realised, as Stephanie Brown's hair) and stretched in a rectangle across the living room, looking like liquid gold spilling over the coffee table. Roark's collection of geodes under the coffee table glass sparkled in reply and scattered their colours on the ceiling – red-pink rubies, blue sapphires and, yes, purple amethysts, all speckling the ceiling like a kaleidoscope.

And to think people said there wasn't anything beautiful about rocks.

Amethyst herself seemed mollified to take the seat opposite her, perhaps a little too tipsy to think much. She wondered whether it was right to tell her what she was about to – Amy was still very dizzy, upsetting the poor girl wouldn't be the smartest thing to do.

Her purple eyes were droopy with fatigue, but in the late afternoon sunlight they sparkled purple like the gemstones under the table; Serena suddenly understood why Amy's parents probably named her Amethyst.

_"So," Amethyst said. "what's that 'secret' you want to tell me, Serena?"_

It was obvious enough Amy, despite being sleepy as sin, was sober enough to understand whatever the Joy was about to say. Serena swallowed, hard, wondering how to approach the subject.

"Well," She rubbed her thumbs over lips, thinking. She remembered her notebook, and then, remembered it had gone missing in the morning.

"I had a notebook – it'd probably be easier to explain if I had it with me but I can't find it…" She looked about vaguely, but shrugged. "We'll have to do without it."

Her Audino had woken up from the noise in the living room, poking its pinkish head out from the behind kitchen door curiously.

"Okay, Amy, what I'm going to say is going to sound… really really weird to you – please promise me you're not going to… freak out or anything." She leaned in close to the brunette's face, and looked at her earnestly. "Alright?"

Satisfied, she leaned back slightly in her chair.

"Okay, do you… do you remember when we talked about the monster at dinner yesterday? And in the afternoon when I mentioned something killed my Sawsbuck?" She looked at the floor, suddenly interested in the weaving pattern of the carpet, and how she hadn't vacuumed it this morning. Anything except looking Amy in the eyes.

"Well, I was lying when I said I didn't know anything about it. The truth is… after it killed my Sawsbuck, I was distraught. I couldn't eat, couldn't sleep. All I wanted to do was to grab a gun and shoot that thing in the head. I spent weeks studying what it could be, and when I finally figured out I was dealing with a Zoroark, I bought a hunting rifle and went after it."

"I knew it was living in the mines – that's where we were attacked, and where Sawsbuck…" She sniffed, paused, and then straightened to continue: "It was the only place in the city limits that could keep a monster that size out of view anyway."

"Roark was in the mines when I got there – and I thought he was hiding the monster from me – he kept telling me to get away, and not to stay in the mines past sunset… I really didn't listen." She laughed hollowly. "When you really want to do something – getting even with the thing that killed your best friend, for one – you really don't think about your own safety, do you, Amy?"

Audino had waddled up to the table, a teapot and a pair of cups balancing on a tray. Serena nodded her thanks, and poured Amy her drink.

"So. Roark. This was the first time I'd ever seen him up close – well, I'd seen him around when I was living with my cousins at the Pokemon Center, he'd come in and get his team healed before big gym battles, and he'd always give me a smile. I thought he was sweet, but I never really thought much about him… well, not until he started telling me to leave the mine. I was so annoyed at him, I swear!" She chuckled, "So, I tell him to get out of my way, and then, I hit him – hard – in the face."

Her hand fled to her cheek, rubbing it as she remembered exactly how she'd hit him that night they'd first met.

"And he – to my surprise – he starts… growling at me… And the next thing I know, he's doubled-over, telling me to run, and screaming like something was trying to burst out of his chest. I was so scared, I thought he was sick..."

She rubbed her fingers over her lips again, and then ran her palms over her eyes, as if to relax herself.

"Have you guessed why I brought everyone to the Reynardine today?" She looked sheepishly at Amy. "I… I thought I could give you a hint, without, well, without having to tell you directly…"

A sigh. She looked at her reflection in the tea.

"…Roark's the beast."

Pulling her pink hair free from the loops she'd tied them into, Serena leaned back and exhaled. There, she'd said it. She didn't feel nearly as good as she imagined she'd be. Rather, she was feeling afraid, guilty, even – what would Roark say if he found out she'd betrayed his trust to Amy? Would Amy even keep it a secret?

"I found out that night in the mine," She continued, still keeping her eyes fixated on the teacup. "I probably wouldn't've survived if Roark hadn't tried to hold himself back. I never told anyone – but Roark asked me to stay with him, just to be safe. Most people just suspected I didn't want to rely on my family anymore when I stopped living at the Pokemon Center – it's true in a way, but not the only reason."

"Myths were always just that – myths. And to finally see a mythical pokemon in the flesh… well, I thought that was too good an opportunity to pass up. Maybe that's why I was so interested in Roark – no because he's nice, but because he's… something fascinating." She looked guilty at the floor. "That's perverted, I know."

"Up until recently, he was a perfectly normal person – human, just like us. But around a year ago, he told me he started shifting at night, usually around the full moon, but sometimes the night before or after, too. He doesn't know why, and if Byron knows, he's not telling Roark – he hasn't spoken to his dad in nigh-forever."

Serena leaned her head back onto the headrest of the chair. It smelled of old leather and comfort, but seemed hard and unforgiving at the moment. She shifted meekly.

"He's been transforming every month regularly for over a year now – he stays in a deeper part of the mine and I make sure he doesn't get loose. Sometimes I take notes in my notebook, but I don't know where it is anymore." A shrug. "The notebook's for a project for school… at least, it was supposed to be at first. I don't know. Now, it seems too private."

It seemed like forever before she lifted her face to look at Amy's. Serena tried to read the brunette's expression.

"This… this is a lot to take in." She admitted to the dexholder. "And if you think I'm batshit insane, I'm not going to hold it against you."

Getting up and wiping her hands over her face again, she noticed her cheeks were wet.

"I'm going to get more tea." She explained, herding the teapot and both cups into her hands. She caust a sideway glance at Riley's jacket on the young woman's shoulders. "You should take that jacket off – it gets warm indoors."

Deep down, a part of Serena was surprised. How could she go about acting so nonchalant after what she'd just admitted? It was so surreal, so… so…

"I don't even know why I'm telling you this." She admitted.

"I've never said anything like this to the Joys at the Center, or to my family." Given how estranged she was to the Joy family, it wasn't that much of a surprise. "And I don't have any friends in this region…

"I guess I really needed to get this off my chest. The notebook worked for a while, but I can't be the only person living with this secret. I'd explode." She leaned her head against the kitchen door, not quite ready to go in and sever her conversation with Amy. "And now, with Riley in town and everyone suddenly interested in the beast…"

A tired sigh escaped her.

"If you have any questions…" She began, then paused. "If there's anything, anything I could help you answer… just ask."

With that, she shut the kitchen door, letting Amy think through what had just conspired between the two of them.


	34. CHAPTER 034: What is correct to do

- N - = Nicky's part

- J - = my part

**Chapter 034 - What is correct to do**

**- J -**

_"Well, I had a notebook – it'd probably be easier to explain if I had it with me but I can't find it…"_

Amethyst flinched and flickered. Hadn't Stephanie shown her a notebook that morning? Her drunkness didn't let her recall what the notebook was about, though.

However, the small brown-haired woman remained silence.

_"...please promise me you're not going to… freak out or anything."_

Amethyst nodded. She noticed Serena was trying her best to not look into her eyes... and also spotted the Joy's pokémon -which was its name again? Audino?- coming into the living-room.

The pink-haired woman seemed suspiciously nervous. It made Amethyst regret her drunk status; what if Serena was going to tell her an important story? Amethyst leaned back in her chair (almost at the same time than Serena), trying her best to pay all her attention.

_"...The truth is… after it killed my Sawsbuck, I was distraught. I couldn't eat, couldn't sleep. All I wanted to do was to grab a gun and shoot that thing in the head. I spent weeks studying what it could be, and when I finally figured out I was dealing with a Zoroark, I bought a hunting rifle and went after it."_

Zoroark. Yes. Amethyst had seen that pokémon today. Serena had showed it to her just a couple of hours ago.

"Whoa!" The petite woman couldn't help but scream. "You're sooo brave!"

_"I knew it was living in the mines - [...] Roark was in the mines when I got there – and I thought he was hiding the monster from me – he kept telling me to get away, and not to stay in the mines past sunset…"_

The younger woman in front of Serena frowned. What was the Joy trying to tell her? Was Roark the beast's guardian or something? Was the beast Roark's pet?

Serena's Audino had served them tea. Serena poured a glass for Amethyst and handed it to her.

"Thanks, Serena." The chestnut-head muttered; then she looked at Audino, smiling. "Thank you, sweetie."

Amethyst kept listening to Serena's story. By the looks of it, it seemed like Roark had something to do with the beast. Amethyst was at least able to deduce that. She tried not to think too much, though, since she didn't want to miss what Serena was saying.

_"And he – to my surprise – he starts… growling at me… And the next thing I know, he's doubled-over, telling me to run, and screaming like something was trying to burst out of his chest."_

"What?!" The purple-eyed trainer couldn't help but scream. What the hell was the Joy going to say now?

However, Serena paused for a moment. Amethyst noticed she was trying to relax. The blue-eyed woman seemed to be in a mess of emotions. Amethyst pitied the poor Serena. The Joy finally got to look into Amethyst's eyes. She was mentioning something about The Reynardine, but Amethyst wasn't able to relate the restaurant to the beast issue. At least in that status...

_"_…_Roark's the beast."_

"Gasp!"

Amethyst didn't even have time to flinch. She gasped and stayed like that, mouth agape, and her purple eyes totally open.

_"I found out that night in the mine, I probably wouldn't've survived if Roark hadn't tried to hold himself back. I never told anyone – but Roark asked me to stay with him, just to be safe. Most people just suspected I didn't want to rely on my family anymore when I stopped living at the Pokemon Center – it's true in a way, but not the only reason."_

"Ah..." Was all Amethyst could say, trying to process all that information. She gulped, still shocked. So, that was the main reason for Serena's behaviour... But what the...! Roark was the beast.

How was that even possible?!

Serena kept talking. There were many things Amethyst wanted to ask, but she was too dizzy to talk, and she didn't want to interrupt Serena, anyway.

_"...around a year ago, he told me he started shifting at night, usually around the full moon, but sometimes the night before or after, too. He doesn't know why, and if Byron knows, he's not telling Roark – he hasn't spoken to his dad in nigh-forever."_

"B-but there has to be a reason!" Amethyst exclaimed, overwhelmed. "This can't be happening for no reason!"

_"...Sometimes I take notes in my notebook, but I don't know where it is anymore. The notebook's for a project for school… at least, it was supposed to be at first. I don't know. Now, it seems too private."_

Amethyst opened her mouth to speak, but Serena kept talking.

_"This… this is a lot to take in. And if you think I'm batshit insane, I'm not going to hold it against you."_

The chestnut-head watched Serena as she got up from the chair. She seemed to be having a really tough time.

_"I'm going to get more tea. You should take that jacket off – it gets warm indoors."_

Unconsciously, Amethyst grabbed Riley's blue jacket on her shoulders, but didn't get rid of it yet.

_"I don't even know why I'm telling you this. I've never said anything like this to the Joys at the Center, or to my family. And I don't have any friends in this region… I guess I really needed to get this off my chest. The notebook worked for a while, but I can't be the only person living with this secret. I'd explode."_

Amethyst nodded. Despite the shock, she felt somewhat flattered. Serena hadn't known her for more than two days, and she already trusted her enough to tell her the secret!

_"If you have any questions… If there's anything, anything I could help you answer… just ask."_

Before Amethyst could reply, Serena left. The purple-eyed woman stared at the living-room's door for a few seconds, still overwhelmed.

"Wh-what has just happened?" She exclaimed, shaking her head and looking around.

By shaking her head, she just got to get dizzier. Great, Amethyst, you're so clever... She got rid of Riley's jacket, throwing it to the sofa. It was then when something fell off from the jacket pockets.

"Eh?" Amethyst asked, surprised; she hastened to pick the items that were now scattered over the sofa. "Newspaper clippings? What's the meaning of this?"

Then, she remembered. The clippings talked about a beast, a monster that ate pokémon... Amethyst had recognized one of the clippings.

"Ms. Brown showed me this same clipping this morning!" Amethyst exclaimed, starting to recall. "And, if I'm not wrong, she showed it to Riley too at the mines! He kept it with him... with all these other clippings..."

Amethyst suddenly shut up. Riley had more clippings other than the one that Stephanie had found that morning. Which meant that...

"Serena!" Amethyst screamed, getting up from the sofa, all the clippings in her hands. "SERENA!"

The chestnut-head got out from the living-room and bounced into the kitchen, where Serena was making more tea. Such was Amethyst's haste that she almost fell onto the floor after tripping over a chair.

"Serena...! Ouch!" Amethyst exclaimed, after tripping; she managed to stay by her feet and showed the clippings to Serena. "Look what I found inside Riley's jacket!"

She was so engrossed with the whole Roark/Zoroark issue that she didn't stop to think if she was betraying Riley.

"Ms. Brown found one of these this morning," Amethyst explained. "and she showed it to Riley later at the mines. Apparently, he didn't know anything about the clipping, but yet he kept it with him... And now it seems like he already had more clippings about the beast."

Amethyst was aware of her poor manners of explaining, but didn't really mind at that moment.

"I-I think Riley's been researching about the Zoroark issue!" Amethyst exclaimed. It wasn't probably new to Serena, since her relationship with Riley had been quite... tense since the beginning.

But Amethyst wanted to break the news she'd just discovered to Serena, anyway.

"And there's more." Amethyst added. "That notebook you talked about..." She took seat, just in case. "Well, Ms. Brown showed me a notebook she'd found last night. She told me she got it from your Audino..."

Amethyst's words came out of her mouth by themselves, she didn't have to think. Were those the alcohol effects too?

"To be honest," The chestnut-head said while Serena had a look at the clippings. "I don't know how to feel about this, I mean, I just found out that a Gym Leader can turn into a pokémon and, while it scares me, I don't feel so bad. Maybe... maybe it's because he's with you... But still... why? Why can Roark turn into a pokémon? That's insane!"

Amethyst planted her hand on her own forehead, sighing. It was pointless to ask Serena, since she'd said herself she didn't know why Roark was like that...

**- N -**

Serena was a mess of emotions. In between asking her 'Oh good Lord, what have I just done?' and wondering if Roark would ever forgive her, she felt… good… to have someone to tell the tale to.

Amethyst hadn't, she realised, reacted to the story in any way to show she didn't believe it. It had only been – two days? No, less – but there was something in the quiet dexholder that had tugged at her trust. Amethyst radiated security, and it was a relief to tell her what she'd known… but still, she wondered how Roark would react to finding out she'd gone and blabbed. Maybe it was best not to tell him yet.

As the teabag turned the hot water golden yellow, Serena drummed her fingers on the table. Roark… …He'd have to turn tomorrow night. And that was the big problem. Would he be able to keep himself human all night? No, that was out of the question. How was he going to lead the Dance once the moon rose?

Her Audino looked up at her, a vague smile on its face. She smiled back, making the little creature giggle with happiness. Maybe Amy would have an answer.

_"Serena! SERENA!"_

The Joy flinched, startled. Amethyst was bounding towards the kitchen, tripping over a chair as she did. Audino rushed to her side, looking concerned, but the dexholder seemed more excited with what was in her hands.

_"Serena...! Ouch! Look what I found inside Riley's jacket!"_

Riley. Bile rose in her throat.

_"Ms. Brown found one of these this morning, and she showed it to Riley later at the mines. Apparently, he didn't know anything about the clipping, but yet he kept it with him... And now it seems like he already had more clippings about the beast."_

Amethyst began to show her the clippings – one after the other. Riley had been a busy, busy boy.

While Serena thought she'd seen every newspaper article about Roark, she was surprised not to recognise some of them – they were old. Some were in languages she barely recognised, others were so old they…

So old they couldn't've been picked up the oldest, yellowing at the edges and soft like tissue paper.

"This is dated twenty years ago," She muttered, "Riley knew about the original black beast, the one at the Reynardine."

_"And there's more. That notebook you taked about... Well, Ms. Brown showed me a notebook she'd found last night. She told me she got it from your Audino..."_

Serena's eyes narrowed. Trust Blondie to take things that weren't hers. Audino whimpered, afraid to be scolded for a lapse in judgement. Serena did nothing, but eyed the clippings with interest.

_"To be honest, I don't know how to feel about this, I mean, I just found out that a Gym Leader can turn into a pokémon and, while it scares me, I don't feel so bad. Maybe... maybe it's because he's with you... But still... why? Why can Roark turn into a pokémon? That's insane!"_

Serena finally found her voice.

"T-thank you," She managed. "I… It's a big relief you're not freaking out," She admitted. "I'm not telling Roark anything yet, so don't mention you know this in front of him. I don't know how he'd react – and with the full moon tomorrow, he might turn tonight if he gets upset."

She played with her pink hair, braiding it absentmindedly while looking over the clippings Amy had laid out on the kitchen counter. Audino picked one up and stared at it.

"Audino," It took it from the Normal-type, and skimmed it.

It was one of the older ones, about the original Reynardine beast.

"There was a Zoroark here before, the one at the Reynardine," She continued to braid her hair, "look at this – Riley knew about it before – but what happened to it? I know an Aura Guardian fought it, and it was never seen again… Riley probably wants to do the same thing to Roark…"

A panic rose in her chest.

"What if Riley kills him?"

She looked about afraid.

"Amy! What if the last Aura Guardian really did kill the first beast?"

**- J -**

Dizzy Amethyst stared at Serena while the hot-pink-haired woman had a look at all the clippings. The Joy seemed strangely surprised at a few of them, as if she didn't recognize them, but the chestnut-head tried to ignore such discovery.

Serena looked bothered when Amethyst told her it was Stephanie the one who was holding the precious notebook at the moment. No wonder. Stephanie was a nice chick, but too much stubborn and quite annoying and busy-body at times. That was Serena's notebook, and it was DEADLY important for her. What if Serena saw herself ruined just because of one of Stephanie's pranks?

"_Wait,_" Amethyst found herself thinking. "_does this mean I have to choose between Serena's side or Ms. Brown's side?_"

Maybe due to the effects of being drunk, Amethyst started to think about stuff which didn't have anything to do with what she was telling Serena. While the blue-eyed Joy listened at Amethyst's feelings about the issue, the younger woman was starting her own mental war:

"_Ms. Brown is a good girl, and a Dexholder, just like me._" Amethyst thought to herself. "_I like her because she reminds me of the old days with my friends, when we were young and carefree. Plus, she doesn't make me feel uncomfortable, and she always make me laugh. She's quite a busy-body, but she's just a kid after all and simply wants to get into adventures._"

"_Now, Serena has opened her heart to me despite being a serious lady and knowing each other for just two days._" The purple-eyed trainer kept thinking. "_She's mature and she actually trusts me, even though I'm quite a bad trainer; she accepts me the way I am. Maybe she's trying to help hide a monster, but… but it's because of the most beautiful thing in this world._"

"_Love._"

_"…full moon tomorrow, he might turn tonight if he gets upset." _

Amethyst flinched. She'd stopped listening to Serena for a moment, but managed to process that last line.

The sudden image of Roark becoming all insane, turning into a beast and starting to kill everyone appeared on Amethyst's mind and didn't please her at all. However, she remained silence. They could just be the alcohol effects.

_"Audino." _

Serena's pokémon'd took a clipping which had fell of Amethyst hands and Serena was already reading it. The bushy-haired woman couldn't figure out what Serena's expression meant. She certainly looked surprised, even somewhat intrigued. But why?

While the Joy kept reading that last clipping, Amethyst continued her mental war. Not only she was trapped between both Serena and Stephanie's sides, but there were more people involved.

…Important people, as she already knew.

"_Am I betraying Riley by telling Serena?_" Amethyst asked to herself, a bit frightened. "_Or Ms. Brown, for that matter? Ms. Brown trusted me her feelings about this issue, and now I'm telling everything…_"

Amethyst felt terribly bad.

"_But Serena is doing this because she loves Roark. She REALLY does!_" The chestnut-head bit her lip. "_And I can't ignore something as beautiful as that…_"

It wasn't a secret anymore the fact that Amethyst had a weak spot for romance.

"_I just don't know what's correct anymore._" Her final thoughts were.

Serena finished reading that last clipping. She didn't seem to repare on Amethyst's distress, as she seemed pretty much frightened herself, as well.

_"What if Riley kills him? Amy! What if the last Aura Guardian really did kill the first beast?" _

The petite woman opened her eyes totally, mouth agape. That line made her realize certaing things.

"Maybe I don't know what I ought to do." Amethyst said, finally talking out loud. "Maybe I don't know what's correct anymore. But I do know that Roark is NOT a beast; he's a human who can turn into a pokémon, but a human after all. He has feelings and emotions! As much as I love Riley… I'd NEVER allow him to kill another human being!"

Amethyst grabbed Serena's hands. Her face was sweaty and red, and was horribly exhausted, but she had to do what her heart was telling her to do. She had to tell Serena!

"Serena, I'm so sorry I've kept things from you," Amethyst said. "when you've opened your heart to me just after two days…"

Of course Serena had been keeping Roark's true nature from her, but that was something Amethyst didn't HAVE TO know, after all. While one of Serena's precious possessions being stolen was actually something the owner should have known!

"As I just told you, Ms. Brown has your notebook." The purple-eyed woman said. "I don't know what's she goind to do with it… Serena, you know Ms. Brown is what I can consider a friend, but what she's done 's wrong, that's why I'm telling you."

"The reason why it took me so long to heal her bruise at breakfast was because she was showing me your notebook and the single clipping. We kept talking about the 'beast' for a while and tried to figure out Riley's intentions about the issue."

"Ms. Brown's kept thinking about the beast since then! At the training, at lunch… And now seems almost as interested as Riley." Amethyst sighed. "I just… wanted to forget about the issue, but it seems like I can't run away from it. I don't know if Ms. Brown has come up with any new theory, but now that I know all the truth… Serena, PLEASE, keep Ms. Brown out of this issue. I know talk is cheap, but you have to try… I don't want her to get into trouble! This is so serious…"

"And Riley…"

Amethyst looked up, directly into Serena's blue eyes. The chestnut-head's purple eyes were a bit teary.

"Riley's a good friend of Roark's and his father." She said, gently. "If what you said is true and he really wants to kill his childhood friend just because of some stupid legend, I'd be… so disappointed…"

…Maybe insulting myths, something which Serena loved, wasn't the smartest thing to do, but the purple-eyed trainer realized too late. Myths actually interested Amethyst as well, but she did NOT know a thing about the old battle between the Aura Guardian and that Zoroark, anyway.

Amethyst sighed again, starting to feel even dizzier.

"I… love him." She muttered. "Don't let him do that to Roark… but don't hurt him either… Please…"

Enough was enough. Amethyst finally knew the truth about Roark and Serena and had, finally, managed to realize and express her feelings about that whole issue, so she could finally rest in peace.

The chestnut-haired woman collapsed in Serena's arms, too tired, too dizzy…


	35. CHAPTER 035: Roark's detritment

- N - = Nicky's part

- J - = my part

**Chapter 035 - Roark's detriment**

**- N -**

_"Riley's a good friend of Roark's and his father. If what you said is true and he really wants to kill his childhood friend just because of some stupid legend, I'd be… so disappointed…"_

Well, her own opinion of Riley was already at an all-time low, Serena mused, but Amy actually loved that man. She could only imagine how torn that must be.

"Look," She soothed. "you don't have to make a decision, Amy. If you feel you need to stay with Riley when the times comes, I'm not going to stop you. But I won't – I can't – leave Roark. Not when he needs me."

Amy might've been too tired to hear her, though – her voice was weak and tired when she next spoke:

_"I… love him." She muttered. "Don't let him do that to Roark… but don't hurt him either… Please…"_

"I know." She muttered. "Don't worry, we'll find a way to fix this. Love… tends to do that."

At least it did in legends – and if her experience with Zoroarks had proven anything, legends had a tendency to be very real indeed.

Guiding the brunette back to her room, Serena laid her on the mattress and rested the duvet over her just as Amy's breathing began to slow and sleep picked her up. She picked up the clippings off the tables – no sense in leaving them around for Riley to find – and slipped them into her knitting basket by her favourite seat.

Satisfied, Serena Joy closed her eyes and fell into an uneasy shifting sleep.

x-x-x-x-x-x-

Stephanie Brown pulled the ice lolly out of her mouth as Rodent did the same, mimicking his trainer as she rested her chin on her fist and pouted. The Raticate had been in surprisingly good form today and their prize money was more than enough to buy a packet of Rawstberry ice lollies (Rodent's favourite) but now that Brown had kicked the butt of every little kid in the town square, there was relatively little else to do than eat dubiously-blue Rawstberry flavoured ice until sunset.

She sat with her backside on the rim of the marble fountain, and leaned back to look at the statue in the centre of it. A man on an armoured Rapidash, his cape flowing behind him as he gripped the horse's reins in one mighty gloved hand and a pike in another. The tip of the weapon was shiny metal, silver from the looks of it, and in the process of plunging itself into the heart of a strange wolflike beast.

The terror on the animal's face was disturbing to say the least. Brown found herself swallowing a gulp of trepidation.

"They bring it out for the festival." A shadow fell over her and Brown looked up to see Riley, Serena's dress draped over one arm and his hat in the other. "The fountain's usually got an angel in the centre but Oreburgh's remarkably fond of that gory old sculpture this time of year – the town council likes to think the whole Black Beast fiasco boosts tourism to the town around this season."

"Does it?" She asked. Rodent tipped his head curiously to the side.

Riley shrugged.

"I can't say. It's morbid, frankly – this whole obsession with killing something. We never did kill the Black Beast, just drove her 'over the hills and far away', or so the legend goes. Every sculptor, every artist worth their salt seems to be obsessed in recreating that encounter in our favour."

He pointed to the sculpture, the Black Beast flailing in her death throes.

"Frankly speaking, we could all very well do without it."

"Why don't you just tell them that? And wait. 'Her'?! So she WAS WAS WAS a girl!"

"You can't kill a legend, Stephanie Brown." He ignored her other questions, as a tone of regret edged his voice. His gaze, however, was steely and cold. "But I intend to do the next best thing."

"That being?"

"I plan to write an ending to this sordid little tale." Riley smiled grimly and put his hat back on. Brown opened her mouth to say something more, but the man's stony demeanour was more than enough to tell her she wouldn't be getting her answers today.

"Come on, Miss Brown." He called out over his shoulder, "If you expect to beat Roark tonight, I should try my best to help – and we'd better do it quickly, if you want your Raticate needs to rest before tonight."

Saying nothing more, Brown picked up the ice lollies in her hands, Rodent helping her with his tiny arms before trotting behind the man.

x-x-x-x-x-x-

"The first three rules of battling, Miss Brown, what are they?"

"Uhhh…" She wracked her brain for any advice Gold might've given her: "Don't flirt with your opponent, don't ask her for her phone number unless you win, and dress sexy if you want to impress!"

Riley slapped his face with his hand.

"Stephanie Brown we have a lot to do."

He tossed out his Pokeball and Laelaps burst out, stretching in a mighty yawn before assuming a fighting stance.

"Rule Number One: Speed is crucial. Do NOT give your opponent the time to prepare an attack before you-LIKE THIS!"

Laelaps leapt into the air, jumping down onto the Raticate and pinning him to the ground with several tiny pin-like blue bones.

"HEY!" Brown shrieked. "That wasn't fair!"

"No, THAT was a Bone Rush attack. And it was perfectly fair – when the referee calls out "This battle will commence in…" and starts the countdown, you have to be prepared, otherwise you'll be open to the first attack."

Rodent squirmed out from under the Lucario's attack and wiggled himself free. His eyes narrowed and in a flash he was gone – reappearing on Laelaps' shoulders and biting him hard in the neck.

"Very good!" Riley clapped. "That was Quick Attack – if Rodent wants to outspeed Roark's Rampardos, you need to make sure he doesn't see your attack coming."

Rodent nodded in praise, trying hard to memorize the advice.

"Number two – might is right. Rodent strongest stat is his Attack, and so is Laelaps' and Calabash's."

Wait.

Brown raised a condescending eyebrow, "Cal… a… bash…?"

"It's what… um…" Riley fought back a chuckle. "Roark named his Rampardos Calabash. In another langauge, it's Hyouta, and that's his middle name."

"And here I thought MY parents hated me cause my middle name was 'Susan'." Brown burst out in laughter. "What kind of idiot idiot idiot names his big fat honking dinosaur CALABASH?!"

Riley opened his mouth to say 'Rodent' wasn't exactly the best nickname either, but thought better of it. He snickered lightly at the thought, though.

"Calabash has been with Roark since the both of us were children," He shrugged, a smile dawning on his mouth as he pulled out his wallet. "Look, that was us then,"

A frizzy dark-haired teenage boy was clutching his broken nose in one hand and holding hands in the other, his arm linked to a redhead with braces and a black eye. Riley was two heads taller than Roark, who came a little past his (very bruised) elbow. From the looks of it they'd been fighting, but the both of them were grinning hard at the camera – no doubt they'd completely forgiven each other. A vacant-looking baby Cranidos (his eggshell still wobbling on his head) was looking away at something more interesting off to the side.

"Gosh, look at you guys!"

"We fought over who'd get to keep Calabash when he hatched – I wanted to call him Philippe." Riley laughed, feeling a pang of guilt creep in as he realised how far the two of them had drifted since the photograph. "My mother made me keep this one. I always liked how I never needed braces."

The golden afternoon passed by into a heady blue evening as the two gawked at more awkward photos of Riley's childhood in between training battles. Laelaps spent his free time gnawing at ice pops with the Raticate instead, watching the sun slowly creep down over Mount Coronet in the Oreburgh skyline.

**- J -**

The word 'worry' barely described Roark's feelings that afternoon. He was already back to work, gathered with his workmates. Just like Amethyst, the Miner Boss was a mess of emotions.

Noise of rocks being moved and chopped. Roark, a pike in his right hand, started to knock a rock in front of him.

Everything had to be ready for tomorrow night's Dance.

"_Riley wants to talk to me._" The red-head thought, while doing his work, staring at nothing in particular. "_I wonder what does he want... He's been so worried-looking ever since he arrived in Oreburgh._"

Why worry about Riley's concerns when his own were worse, anyway?

"_And he's so interested in the 'beast issue', it makes me mad._" Roark sighed. "_I doubt I'll be able to hide my preoccupation. I just CAN'T. Whenever he talks to me about it, I get so nervous... He's noticed, for sure._"

"_If, at least, only Serena were better than me at hiding emotions..._"

Serena Joy wasn't certainly the type of women who showed constantly her feelings, as she was quite a strict woman, but yet she was as bad as Roark at concealing her emotions when the 'beast issue' popped up in conversations.

"_What will be Riley thinking about it?_" Roark kept wondering, bitting his lip. "_He's so intelligent and bold, not to mention keen._"

"_It's nearly impossible to hide anything from him. And he has the power of Aura!_"

They were at quite a quagmire.

"Boss."

"_I hope Serena will be able to hide everything from him,_" Roark thought; at that time, he was simply knocking the rocking without even noticing what he was doing.

"Boss, it might be better to send out your Rampardos to destroy that rock, don't you think?"

"_Gaah, it's so sad that I have to rely on Serena._" The ginger was like in another dimension, ignoring the rest of the world. "_My classmates' mother always complimented my intelligence, but I certainly CAN'T think of anything useful for this..."_

"Boss?"

Roark broke out his own world and appeared, suddenly, in the real world. One of his workmates had approached him and was staring at him.

"Uh, sorry." Roark muttered. "What?"

"That rock is kind of too big, Boss." The miner repeated. "I'm not doubting your strenght, but time is running out. We must finish as much as we can today."

Roark flickered. He still didn't know what was all that about.

"We'll have very little time tomorrow to work before the Miner's Dance." The other miner continued. "You should start using your pokémon to go faster, if you allow me to advertise it to you..."

"Oh!" Roark exclaimed at the mention of the Dance. "Ok. True. The Dance."

The young man looked around. His workmates' pokémon -Onyx, Sandlash, Dugtrio, Donphan, Golem and Nidoking- all of them were helping their trainers to clean out the place.

"Sorry, I didn't thought of that." Roark said, with a sorrowful smile on his face. "Thanks, Edward."

Roark's subordinate nodded and went back to work. Roark took a pokéball out of his pocket.

"Okay." He muttered. "Go! Calabash!"

The red-head's Rampardos appeared in scene with a hollow growl. Some of the pokémon at the work field growled at him, but in a fond way. Calabash was a very respected pokémon.

"Rarrr... 'pardos!" Calabash growled, higher.

"Go destroy that big rock, boy." Roark ordered. "Headbutt!"

The Rampardos knocked the rock furiously, reducing it to mere dust. The youngest pokémon of the scene seemed impressed, or at least those who were still watching.

"Very nice." Roark said; however, he wasn't in the mood to work. He only could keep thinking. "_Then, there's this Stephanie kid -who seems even more interested that Riley himself in the 'beast issue'!_"

The miner boss planted his left hand on his face, leaving it nearly black due to the dust and the dirt.

"_Who is she? Riley's subordinate or something?_" Roark thought, disgusted. "_It looks like it. She would be an adorable kid otherwise. But the truth is that she seems to be making her own conclusions about this whole matter._"

"_And being a crazy kid as she is, nothing good can come out her thoughts! And what if she shares them with Riley? What will be of me?_"

Calabash kept moving, transporting and destroying -when too big- rocks along his pokémon mates. However, Roark was the only trainer who wasn't giving his pokémon any order.

"_And I can't certainly rely on Amethyst to distract Stephanie either._" Roark thought, scrubbing the sweat off his forehead. "_Moreover, as far as I know, she's a crush on my 'buddy', so, if the fateful time comes, I can't count on her either..."_

The image of Serena appeared suddenly on his mind. Serena taking notes and writing them down in her notebook. Serena healing his bruises. Serena putting a bandage on his claws. Serena hiding him from others' eyes...

"Boss. What do we do now?"

"Uh- what?"

Roark shook his head. Another miner had approached him, as well as his Rampardos.

"What do we do with all that detritus, Boss?" The young miner asked again.

"Oh." Roark looked at the amount of dust and tiny fragments of rocks. "Just... just throw it over there."

"Uh, _over there_?" The miner arched an eyebrow. "Oh, okay..."

"_That's it._" Roark thought while his subordinates and Calabash began to get rid of the detritus. "_I have Serena. Riley might be intelligent, but that Stephanie doesn't seem very clever, and Amethyst has never been a very good trainer, if I remember right._"

"_Serena is very intelligent and, as soon as I stop being so worried,_" Roark looked disappointed with himself at that moment. "_I'll be able to think clearly as well. There's no way Riley will beat us BOTH. Moreover..._"

Roark's expression seemed nearly dreamy at that moment. Without saying a word, he went back with Calabash and his workmates to clean out the fragments of all the rocks.

"_Serena will be coming to the Miner's Dance with me._" Roark giggled to himself. "_I can't believe an interesting woman like her fancies a weirdo like me. I wonder what does she like about me..._"

"_And how did I end up being in love with her?_"

"Uh, Boss... What are you doing?"

Roark shook his head again. All the detritus had been thrown away down a ravine, but he was trying push a workmate's Golem as if it were a mere rock.

"Oh! Sorry!" Roark exclaimed, scratching his head under his hardhat. "I... I didn't kinow what I was doing!"

"Boss, are you feeling okay?" The Golem's trainer asked.

"Of course!" Roark said, proudly.

Of course he wasn't. But he was the Boss, he couldn't show weakness so easily.

It was hot despite being autumn. Plus, it'd been one hour since lunch time, so one of the warmest hours of the day was beginning. Roark kept working in silence, along with Calabash. He listened to his friends talk about the Miner's Dance while they worked.

"Did you find someone for the Dance?"

"Yeah! She's very beautiful! I can't wait to introduce her to you! I'm so sure she's my soulmate..."

"Awww man, you're so lucky. I haven't met such an important person yet."

"Aww man."

"I've also got to go with one of my best childhood friends! I've always liked her. I can't wait for tomorrow's night to confess!"

"Man, that's cheesy."

"Haha! I'm going to the Dance with a lady I just met! She has beautiful silver hair, and she says it won't be anything serious!"

"Oh, you."

"Do you think it will be good if you don't follow the Dance's guidelines?"

"Awww man."

Roark sighed as he kept digging.

"_So WHAT if I'm going to the Dance with Serena? Tomorrow night will be full moon! No __matter how shrewd Serena is, there's no human way to avoid the impossible!_"

The ginger kept digging more furiously. The tiny hole he had started making began to grow. Calabash turned to look at his trainer, somewhat worried.

"Pard? 'pardos..."

Roark noticed his main pokémon worrying about him and a small, warm smile appeared on his dirty face.

"Everything's alright, boy." He said, softly, stroking Rampardos' hard head. "And everything will be all right..."

Who said ground type pokémon weren't cute?

"_No... Everything is going to be wrong._" Roark thought, as soon as Calabash turned back to him to keep digging on his own. "_There's no plausible way to overcome this issue._"

"_We won't get alive out of this._"

"Eh, Boss..."

Roark flinched. Another of his subordinates had approeached him, looking concerned.

"Those holes are supposed to mount a stall, Boss." He said. "I don't think you should be making them so big..."

"Oh, true that." Roark muttered. "Sorry."

"Ummh, are you sure you're okay, Boss?" The miner asked. "You've been acting pretty strangely t-"

"I'm okay!" Roark exclaimed suddenly, causing his workmate to flinch. "Don't bother me!"

Confused, the other miner walked away and went back with his mates; they were mounting what would be a small, alfresco buffet for tomorrow's Dance.

"Tsk." Roark muttered; Calabash looked at him, but turned back to him again to keep working. "_This can't last any longer._" The ginger looked nearly desperate. "_This HAS to end._"

The miner boss stared at his Rampardos, Calabash. They'd been buddies ever since he was small kid. Roark would never forget how Riley and he had fought over the Cranidos egg to see who would keep the pokémon.

_"Roark! You're too young to raise a pokémon like Cranidos!" Riley had said. "Cranidos are very rough pokémon, and you can't imagine about their evolution, Rampardos."  
><em>_  
>"I don't care!" The small Roark had exclaimed, pushing his friend. "My specialty is rock! This Cranidos is meant to be mine! You can keep your steel type pokémon!"<em>

Roark smiled with sorrow. How could he forget something like that? Riley had been his very best friend since... always. Of course he was several years older than him, but he had never taken advantage of the age difference and, instead, he had made use of it to give young Roark many tips.

"_I won't be able to take it if I am to fight with Riley._"

Because it wouldn't be like when they were little.

"Boss, you should finish for today."

Another of Roark's subordinates, a man who was actually older than the miner boss, had approached Roark along with his Sandlash.

"You look too tired. You should go have some rest." The miner said. "Moreover, you told us about your upcoming gym battle, so you shouldn't push yourself so hard at work anymore for today."

"B-but...!" Roark stuttered. "Everything has to be ready for tomorrow night!"

"We've made quite a big advance today." The other miner said, softly. "We're almost done. Don't worry, Boss, tomorrow everything will be finished."

"O-okay..." Roark said. "Thank you, Alexaindre."

The ginger walked back to the cloakroom, in a small bulding near their work place. He would take a relaxing bath and then he would go back home.

x-x-x-x-x-x-

Amethyst woke up. She wasn't feeling dizzy anymore, so she got rid of the pink duvet that was over her. She was at Serena's room. How long had it been since she had fallen asleep?

"_Eww, my dress._" Amethyst thought, looking at herself in the mirror. "_I'm so dirty. I need a bath._"

She went to the kitchen, where Serena was. She looked more relieved -maybe she had got a small sleep as well?- and was preparing dinner.

"Serena." Amethyst muttered, getting in the kitchen.

Would Serena imagine she wanted to talk about the 'beast issue'?

"I-I, uh... need a bath." Amethyst said, somewhat embarrassed. "And clean clothes. If you allow it, of course."

**- N -**

Audino was upset. Serena could tell.

She'd bought the little pink creature a set of lego blocks a month ago, and it had a habit of sitting down on the kitchen linoleum and stacking them into towers to knock down in its spare time. (Not to mention leaving them around for her to step on.) Now the Audino was doing nothing of the sort as it sat down, simply clicking two blocks together and pulling them apart, and vacant sort of worry on its simple face.

"You're worried too, huh," the Joy sighed. "Look… don't get upset just because I'm worried. Sure, I may just have divulged the most important secret of my life to someone I've only known for two days, but y'know, I'm alright with that."

That much was true. Serena stopped stirring the soup in the pot and held the spoon out for Audino to taste it.

"It's crazy, I know, but these thing's'll work out… They usually do,"

She smoothed her hair on the pokemon's head and Audino purred gleefully. Still, there was no hiding the fact that her voice was missing some of its usual conviction.

_"Serena."_

The Joy flinched.

"Oh, Amy," She breathed out relieved. "Sorry, I didn't think you'd wake up by yourself – you had quite the hangover."

_"I-I, uh... need a batch. And clean clothes. If you allow it, of course."_

Serena beamed. "Sure, why not?" My closet's in the room you were in just now. Just take what you need – I have to warn you first, though – we ran out of hot water in the shower when the mines busted our heater line. I hope you like cold showers."

She added the last sentence as an apologetic joke, but in her uneasy mulling mood, nothing she said sounded funny.

"C'mon, you better hurry," She shooed the shorter woman out of the kitchen. "It takes a little longer to bathe without hot water anyway,"

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

"And Remember, Rule Number Three-"

"I won't forget Rule Three!" Brown cross her arms and huffed indignantly. Riley didn't seem to have much trust in her ability to remember things – then again, though, Riley didn't seem to have much trust in anything.

"Ratirarrr," Rodent trotted on the railing as Brown and the tall dark man wandered down the apartment hallway, his trainer hastily scooping him up before he fell.

"Rodent," She chided, holding him far away from the edge of the railing, "you're going to hurt yourself if you're not careful! Falls can kill!"

Brown considered herself an expert in falling down – she'd had more than enough firsthand experience in that regard anyway, and her numerous cuts scrapes and bruises spoke for themselves. Rodent squirmed slightly in her hands but decided it was best to go limp and wobbled off towards the apartment door.

It had taken her a second glance to notice several potted plants by the door, Serena's work maybe, which had slowly begun to wilt after the summer. The last of the dying purple flowers stretched out towards the now-faded sunlight. Riley reached out under the plant and pulled out a key.

"Hid the key under the flowerpot again," Riley muttered, "Roark's too predictable."

The key clicked in the lock and he swung the door open, just as Brown bellowed:

"WE'RE HEEEEREEEE! WHAT'S FOR DINNER?"


End file.
